


Second Chances

by Winterbell23



Series: He Is My Son [2]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Alexander Hamilton is George Washington's Biological Son, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Time Travel, Angst, Bisexual Alexander Hamilton, Characters Watch The Musical, Drama, F/M, Gay John Laurens, George Washington is a Dad, Hamilton watches Hamilton, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Multi, PTSD, Polyamorous Alexander Hamilton, Polyamory, Protective Washington, Suicidal Thoughts, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Washingdad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-19
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2021-02-22 11:33:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 40,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22315618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Winterbell23/pseuds/Winterbell23
Summary: When a pair of twins with reality warping abilities pull several key historical figures from their timelines before they can each make a huge, life-altering decision, and give them a glimpse into their futures, will they still go through with the decisions that have cemented their place in history, or will they decide to learn from it and change the future? Companion piece to "In The Eye Of A Hurricane."Aka another "Characters Watch The Musical" fic, but with a twist.
Relationships: Aaron Burr/Theodosia Prevost Burr, Alexander Hamilton & George Washington, Alexander Hamilton/Elizabeth "Eliza" Schuyler, Alexander Hamilton/John Laurens, George Washington/Martha Washington, Rachel Faucette Buck/George Washington
Series: He Is My Son [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606198
Comments: 87
Kudos: 359





	1. Gathered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What if I read to you a story,  
> Starting; "Once Upon A Time",  
> And you realised that it was your life,  
> Spelt out on every line,  
> Would you hear my voice with wonder,  
> As it brushed across each word,  
> And pray my arms had strength to hold,  
> The truth about your world,  
> Would your view on life be different,  
> And would it shock you most to find,  
> That the things you thought defined you,  
> Could be summed up in just two lines,  
> And all the ones you took for granted,  
> The ins and outs of every day,  
> Play a bigger part in who you are  
> Than you'd ever dared to say,  
> Would you wonder at the pages left,  
> And all the places that they'll lead,  
> Then vow to make each moment,  
> One that you'd be proud to read,  
> Because there is a story of your life,  
> But it's you that holds the pen  
> And I hope you fill the pages right,  
> Before you reach the end."
> 
> ~ Erin Hanson

**_1778, New Jersey_ **

"Hamilton! Meet me inside." 

General Washington's order cut through the air, the frostiness in his voice putting the winter chill to shame.

For just a moment before Alexander scrambled back in the direction of their temporary headquarters he saw the split second look of _wide-eyed panic_ on the boy's face, although he quickly recovered and did as he was told. _For once_. George took a moment to try and gather his composure, but found it to be a losing battle and gave up, before he too returned to the (abandoned) inn where they were held up at the moment. 

He entered his office and found the young man standing there with his arms behind his back, one wrist clutching the other, blue eyes staring straight ahead. _Nervous_.

"Son—" He began, ignoring Alexander's quiet but terse _'don't call me son'_. "This war is hard enough without infighting." 

"Lee called you out, we just called his bluff." He insisted, refusing to throw all the blame on Laurens even though it hadn't been his idea; he had gone along with it, after all, and couldn't say a part of him didn't secretly enjoy it; making the arrogant man eat his own words. Washington was like a father to all of the young men who'd grown close to him throughout this war, _especially_ the Aides whom he'd handpicked for his personal staff, which was why they needed to do this. John even pointed out when Lee and Burr questioned his motives that a _son_ could take his father's place in a duel if he declined.

That was how much he respected and cared for the General. 

"You solve nothing, you aggravate our allies to the south!" 

Alexander set his jaw, "You're absolutely right. John should've shot him in the mouth, that would've finally shut him up." He muttered stubbornly. 

_Stubborn boy_. "Son—" 

"I'm not'cha son." His Aide de Camp insisted, a hint of his Nevis accent slipping out the way it occasionally did when he was annoyed, clearly growing more frustrated with his commander. Washington didn't understand, he never would, and Alexander couldn’t tell him without risking his own neck. It was about more than just Lee’s disrespect.

He did avert his gaze as the older man stared him down though, hating the disappointment on his face, " _Watch your tone_. I am not a maiden in need of defending, Hamilton, I am _grown_."

"Charles Lee, Thomas Conway, these men take your name and they rake it through the mud with their slander!"

A huff of air, trying not to lose his cool, "My name's been through a lot, I can take it."

"Well, I don't _have_ your name," Alexander finally snapped back, and it stung more than he wanted to admit. Because he should, the boy _should_ have his name, he was the only blood child he had, it should have been his birthright to have everything George did, even if the younger man would not receive any of it until after he'd passed. But Hamilton _didn't know_ _that_. "I don't have your titles, I don't have your land. But if you—"

" _No_."

But he just wouldn't let it go, _couldn't_. "If you gave me a command of a battalion, a group of men to lead, I could fly above my station after the war! I can do this, Sir, I know I can, I led my Company through Long Island, and White Plains, Trenton and more!" He insisted, desperation in his voice, because he was running out of time. If he didn't make his mark in history now, during the Revolution, he never would. He would go back to being the same nobody orphan he was on the island. But Eliza deserved better. John, too. They all deserved better than what he was currently, he _owed_ them that, for taking a chance on him when so few people were willing to. 

Why didn't the General _believe_ in him?

" _Or_ , you could die, and we need you alive." George told him with a note of finality, because he was _done_ talking about this. Alexander wasn't ready, not with that attitude, and he might never be. He wasn't going to watch another child die on his watch if there was something he could do to prevent it.

But then...

"I am more than willing to die!" He nearly yelled, a manic sort of energy in his eyes that unsettled the General. 

_Why? Why do you care so little about your own survival? There are so many people here who love you, Alexander, God damn it!_ _For once in your life just listen when someone tells you no!_ "Your friends need you alive, _Elizabeth_ needs you alive! Son, _**I**_ need you alive!" His boy was a powder keg, ready to explode, and before he could diffuse the situation he realized it was already too late. Alexander had always hated being lectured, perhaps he had gone too hard on him. He opened his mouth to say something to calm him, but—

_"CALL ME YOUR SON ONE MORE TIME!"_

Alexander was less than a foot from him, staring up at his General's face with too bright eyes, the violet hues shining with unshed tears, his hands were shaking and he looked but a moment away from falling apart. 

_He looked so broken, so defeated._

In that moment, Washington had his mind made up, and he held his breath, the words on the tip of his tongue. _Go home Alexander_. If he said them, there was a good chance he would never see the boy again. But if he let him stay, his Aide was going to push and push until he finally caved, and George would _not_ be the reason he was killed. He wouldn't let his life end when it had only just barely begun; it would crush so many of the people who cared for him.

"Alex—" He didn't get the chance to finish the sentence, for a sudden bright white light enveloped him.

* * *

When the man began to regain consciousness, it was in a completely unfamiliar environment. 

He was laying on something impossibly soft, a bed of the finest quality which he hadn't felt since before the war began. Sitting up slowly with a slight headache, he groaned and rubbed his face, looking around cautiously. Standing up, Washington began to explore the room. He was in an extremely large, luxurious looking room with cherry red wooden walls and marble flooring, sitting on a plush leather couch that reclined backwards, a massive black... _board_ of some sort mounted on the wall and strange lights hanging overhead, like chandeliers but without candles. There was a kitchen area and a bar in the very back, but they looked nothing like any kind he'd ever seen. 

He heard a quiet moan behind him and quick turned around, prepared to face off against whoever had taken him, only to realize he knew the person - _people_ \- who were with him. 

"Laurens? Misses Schuyler? Burr?" The familiar group groggily shook off whatever had knocked them out, and the two others, whom he didn't recognize, did as well.

Laurens, Elizabeth (why was she wearing a _wedding dress?_ ), Angelica (why was she in a _ballgown?_ ) and Aaron he all knew well enough or had at least met before, but he had no idea who the other one was. There was a boy around eighteen or nineteen with dark reddish brown hair and familiar chocolate brown eyes. Looking around at the others, he noticed they seemed just as baffled as he was, Burr saw his face and seemed to pale in shock; the red-haired boy looked just as spooked too, for some reason.

"What the hell is going on?" 

His head snapped up and looked towards the back of the room, where someone was leaning heavily against the nearby couch. 

Alexander! 

He started towards him but stopped abruptly when he realized something was _wrong_.

This... this wasn't his Alexander, it couldn't be. This was a _boy_ , no older than fifteen or sixteen at the oldest. But he looked _exactly_ like his son, just... _younger_. He had a mop of unkempt dark auburn hair tied at the back of his neck and vivid blue violet eyes. He was wearing a threadbare brown coat over his clothes and looked rather thin, like he was dearly in need of a proper meal, and had dark shadows under his eyes like he spent as little time sleeping as physically possible. 

"Who are you people?" He looked around at them nervously. "Where am I?" 

God, even his voice was identical Alexander's, held that same quick, too-fast tone that made him sound somewhat awkward at times. How was this possible? His son was twenty years old, not just barely a teenager. He had to be going mad, or he was hallucinating. 

Burr was still staring at Washington, "You... you're dead." 

_What?_

Before he knew it, everyone was speaking at once, talking over each other and arguing, trying to figure out where they are and what had happened, when a sudden voice cut through the noise like it was nothing, clear as day. 

"Shut up and let me explain!" 

* * *

Looking to the source of the interruption, the group found themselves looking at a pair of kids, seventeen or so, with dark brown - nearly black - hair and ocean-colored eyes, no doubt siblings; they were practically identical. The girl's hair was choppy and uneven with bizarre violet streaks in it and some sort of metal ball sparkling on the side of her nose, and the boy had his ears pierced in several places, with rings and even a lightning bolt decorating them. 

The teenage boy looked like he was regretting rising from his bed this morning while the girl had an excited gleam in her eyes. 

Oh good Lord!

When they realized what the children were wearing, all the men averted their gaze quickly, Alexander and John and even Aaron were especially flustered. "We're very sorry Miss, we didn't mean to intrude on you in your home while you were... ahem..." 

"Huh, what's wrong? I thought you guys wanted to know why you're here?" The girl asked, confused. 

Scanning their body language for a moment, the boy elbowed the girl and coughed, "Sis, I think it's our clothes. You saw where we picked them up from, remember? These relics probably would've had us committed back in the day!" She looked down at herself and her brother and understanding dawned. He was wearing skinny jeans and a Batman t-shirt, and she was donning a pair of denim shorts and a floral bikini top, her brunette locks pulled up in a still damp ponytail; she'd been in the swimming pool earlier. 

"Oh, shit, my bad. Hang on a moment." With their backs turned it wasn't as noticeable, but there was a flash of light behind them. "Better?" 

The girl was now wearing long gray pants made out of... some sort of material, and a coat-type article of clothing to match, as was her sibling. 

"I'm sorry, when I brought you all here I totally neglected to consider the culture shock you'd experience." She said, her words not making much sense, the inflection she used was strange despite speaking what was clearly English.

Aaron stepped forward, finding his voice to ask the question they were all thinking, "I beg your pardon, Miss, but... would you mind telling us exactly what's going on here? And who you are?"

"Of course, that's the first thing I meant to do when you woke up. But you may want to take a seat," she gestured at the reclining chairs, "Because what I'm going to tell you is going to sound completely insane." 

Glancing uneasily at one another, they made their way back over to the sofas and sat down. 

* * *

"So... you're telling us that you are from the future?" Laurens finally asked after about a minute of mute silence among the group; the looks on his friends and the others' faces told him they weren't really buying it either. Except maybe the kids, but kids were just naturally more inclined to believe in impossible things. "And we're in the future right now, because you brought us here. You cannot seriously expect us to believe that?" The twins, Talia and Noah as they'd introduced themselves, looked at each other as if having an unspoken conversation with one another. "Do you have any proof?"

"I don't need proof." Talia soon decided, looking at all of them one by one, and adding, "Everyone state your names and what year you were in when I brought you here." 

"Seriously?" 

"Just do it. We'll go by age."

Seeing the others automatically turn to him, whether because they knew he was the oldest among them or because they instinctively looked to him for guidance, he sighed, "George Washington, 1778." 

"Oh my God..." John breathed. 

Burr added, looking shaken himself, "Aaron Burr Jr., 1804." 

This wasn't logical, it couldn't be _real_.

For some reason, this young version of Alexander shut his eyes and muttered something that sounded like a prayer, which threw him off, because he'd never know Hamilton to be a religious man before; he'd certainly not shown any clear inclinations since they had met, although he knew he and Elizabeth intended to marry in a church. He looked frightened, and Washington swallowed the urge to say something comforting to him.

"John Laurens," The boy he thought of as a child continued on when the rest of them merely sat there, stunned, for a long time. "1782." 

"Angelica Schuyler," The eldest of the two sisters stated, her voice calm, but he could see the panic in her eyes no matter how well she attempted to conceal it. "1777, I was attending the Winter's Ball when I passed out," she shot a suspicious look at the twins. "I was about to introduce my sister to Lieutenant Colonel Hamilton." 

"Wait!" Eliza suddenly exclaimed, standing up, "I'm from 1780, and _I_ was about to say _'I do'_ at my wedding!" 

"1801," The older of the young boys stated, " _My_ name is Philip Hamilton," he said, to the shock of everyone in the room. Well, except for Burr, whose face was a blank unreadable mask. " _Those_ are my parents... or at least they will be one day, and I was supposed to be in a duel before I got pulled into this mess!" 

Aaron seemed to wince for some reason when Phillip spoke.

His son took a deep breath, "Alexander Hamilton," He reluctantly told them. "1773, I arrived in the Colonies just under a year ago and am currently enrolled in Elizabethtown Academy." 

Laurens gasped while the others simply gaped at him.

So it was true, this was his boy... a few months after he arrived at the Colonies. That would have been in October of '72 and his birthday was in January... so this boy was about sixteen years old, he supposed. Washington suddenly found himself unable to speak as he realized he was staring at his son from four years before they would meet. Skinny, timid, his eyes jumping from one person to the next as if waiting to be backed into a corner. There was something oddly heart-wrenching about the way he curled in on himself and refused to make direct eye contact.

Murmurs of shock went through their group and suddenly everyone was speaking at once, getting more and more worked up the longer it went on. He was just about to order them all to settle down when—

"Please be quiet! That's what I was trying to tell you people, none of this is a mass hallucination or bad drug trip." Talia told them all seriously. "I brought you here because in our lives, everyone makes mistakes, and usually, for most people there's not a whole hell of a lot we can do about it without destroying the timeline; it's more drastic the further back you go, although the changes are slow to adapt and it takes a while to catch up. But everyone deserves a chance to look back on one mistake, maybe not even their biggest or the one they regret the most, but a mistake, and have a chance to change it, if they want to. I think the people who helped shape our country are particularly owed that much. All of you made a decision that impacted the rest of your lives, and even the lives of those around you, or you were going to before I brought you here. I wanted to give you the opportunity to learn what the future - to see the end of the war and turn of the new century play out - and change it, if you wish." 

"Even if you are being truthful, that sounds like a _terrible_ idea—" Alexander began at the same time as John asked, "How?"

Noah stood up suddenly, "Great question! Okay, so in the year 2015, a man named Lin-Manuel Miranda who was inspired by the 2004 biography of Alexander Hamilton by historian Ron Chernow decided to adapt it into a musical about his life and story, including the stories of those closest to him. And before you ask, a musical is basically a stage play, in that actors perform the roles of characters and it's usually divided into sections like Act I and Act II with an overarching plot and reoccurring themes, but the story is told through music, including narration and sometimes dialogue, from start to finish usually with only minimal spoken lines between performances, it also heavily incorporates dancing and stage props."

For a moment, the young teenager looked stunned that anyone would even _bother_ writing something like that for him, but then his eyes narrowed, "A play about me? _Why?_ Do we really need to see this?" His tone suggested he would rather the ground open up and swallow him whole than have anything to do with this. 

Though he desired to have his name in the history books, this wasn't _exactly_ what he had in mind.

Besides, no one was supposed to know the future! It was unnatural!

"I mean, you don't _have_ to. I told you I'd give you guys the opportunity to change your future if you wanted, I can send you back home if you like... but then you'll never know what happens, or if another person here will change the narrative without you even realizing." Talia pointed out, and Eliza's hands balled up in her wedding gown. She wanted to see it. "Does anybody want to leave?" 

For a moment, Washington considered it. He didn't know about all this time travel and future nonsense, had never given much thought to superstitious tripe, but he was sure nothing good could come from learning what has not yet happened. That wasn't knowledge anybody but the Lord should have at their disposal. But then he saw the looks on his boys' faces and realized that they were staying... and he wasn't prepared to leave them with these people, alone, or to face whatever this 'musical' would show them without support. 

When no one demanded to leave, Talia nodded, "Okay, then we're doing this."

Alexander shut his eyes, a look of utter dread on his face. He didn’t know any of these people; he wished Hercules was here with him, so he didn’t have to face it alone.

Feeling his throat close up, Washington studied the boy again. it was hard to believe this bruised, hungry-looking and wary child was the same one who he would meet four years later and eventually learn was his son. He was so _small_. Granted, the Hamilton he knew now wasn’t exactly a large man, but he didn’t look nearly as frail and underfed as this child he was looking at now. Trying to picture this boy joining his ranks in just a couple of years made his stomach curl with horror. He didn’t belong on the battlefield.

Alexander didn't understand why he was included in this at all. There was nothing in his childhood he could have changed, even if he wanted to. The deaths of his loved ones had been entirely out of his hands; he'd just been trying to survive all this time. And why him? He was no one important, not yet anyways. He couldn't see why someone would write an entire play about him.

"Alright, now that we've got that settled, we should get started. There will be plenty of time to ask questions between performances. For now, you should all probably freshen up. No offense Mr. Laurens, but you smell like death, and Miss Schuyler... er, Misses Schuyler, I doubt either of you want to ruin your pretty dresses. Come with me, I'll show you where the bathrooms are and how everything works, and get you all something to change into." Talia chirped cheerfully, a complete 180 from her earlier sarcastic and foul-mouthed demeanor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, for the sake of my story I'm going to be changing things into two separate timelines. There's the timeline of the musical which will remain as is and be explained to the characters if they get confused why things aren't totally accurate, and then there will be the timeline for the characters watching, understand? Great!
> 
> 1\. Angelica Schuyler doesn't marry John Church until after she had already met Alexander (in real life they didn't meet until she showed up for Eliza's wedding, I believe). This allows for the romantic subplot where she was secretly in love with him. The musical shows her getting married in Non-Stop after the war ends but I'm going to say she gets married around 1781/1782. Everything else for her will remain historically canon with regards to her children and whatnot.
> 
> 2\. Quick background: In real life, Alexander was not dismissed from the Army because of the Lee incident. He CHOSE to leave in March of 1781, long after the Battle of Monmouth occurred, for various reasons that can be summed up with frustrated by GW's refusal to give him a command, and disliking George trying to parent him and the fact he had a bad temper and Hamilton felt disrespected; he didn't want emotion to get in the way of doing his job. So he chose to leave and he and Eliza settled down near Washington's camp, where they did keep in touch and Alex kept repeatedly asking for a command, at one point threatening to resign his commission altogether. 
> 
> For the sake of this story I'm going to say that GW did scold Hamilton like in Meet Me Inside for his role in the duel with Lee but did not send him home. It wouldn't make sense because in 1778, Eliza and Alexander weren't married. They were married in 1780. So to help the story I'm going to say they were engaged by then and that they first met at the Winter's Ball in 1777, because the Battle of Monmouth happened in 1778. This hopefully allows for Hamilton to have at least been engaged to Eliza by the time of the Laurens-Lee duel.
> 
> 3\. Additionally, while dueling wasn’t really allowed back then, Alexander did not antagonize Lee and his second but rather, after Laurens’ bullet grazed Lee and the two men wanted to go a second round, it was Hamilton who helped negotiate a peace. I’ve read online that many people believe Hamilton actually SAVED one or both of their lives that day. So for the sake of the intro to this story I’m going to say GW CONSIDERED sending Alex home but ultimately did not, and a few years later Alexander briefly leaves the Army because it makes more sense to me, timeline wise. Also, Lee sent a letter to Congress in 1780 about Laurens and the duel that was so obnoxious they basically fired him; nobody liked that guy because he was pissy he wasn’t made the Commander in Chief instead of GW, even though Washington was better suited for it. I can’t see George kicking Alex to the curb for agreeing to watch Laurens’ back. I’m keeping the argument in but it’ll be addressed in the story that Alex was not actually sent home that day.
> 
> 4\. John Laurens was homosexual and had some sort of romantic relationship with Hamilton behind closed doors. My basis for this is Hamilton's overly flowery letter to John (you know the one) that some believe was Hamilton's hurt response to learning John was married. It should be noted that after Laurens left London to join the Army, he never saw his wife or daughter again despite living several more years where he could have gone to visit. 
> 
> 5\. Alexander was born in 1757. There's evidence that he could have been born in 1754, 1755 and 1756 but ultimately because that's the birthday Hamilton used for the majority of his life and the one histories believed up until the 1920s, it's the one I'll be using. Plus it fits in with him being super young when he joined the military so I'll choose plot convenience over realism. 
> 
> 6\. He is Washington’s biological son. You can read more about this in my story “The Eye Of A Hurricane.” which is sort of related to this but not 100% in the same timeline. This was actually a rumor that existed in the 18th century which apparently bothered Hamilton to no end (that any older gentleman he became close to was 'secretly' his bio dad); he was embarrassed by his status as a bastard and the insinuation he couldn’t have gotten his position through his own merits rather than through nepotism or fucking (yes, some people actually thought he and GW were screwing, sometimes while being father and son, it was a messed up time and I can’t blame him for wanting to distance himself from George). George however did not hire Alexander because of this, he didn't realize who Hamilton was until he'd been working with him almost year.
> 
> That’s all for now; I’ll edit if I think of more.


	2. Alexander Hamilton

Cleaning themselves up didn't take long; Noah led the men into one bathroom while Talia brought the two women to another. 

"Can I ask you something?" Angelica requested after she had finished showing them how to use modern showers. She'd been watching the young girl closely; her mannerisms, the way she spoke, her clothing. There was so much she wanted to know. Seeing the green-eyed girl nod, she gestured to her, "What are you wearing? And your outfit before... I've never seen anything like it."

Smiling brightly, the brunette explained what jeans, sweatpants, bikinis and shorts were, and informed them that yes, all three were common and normal for women to wear these days in most parts of Europe and the American continents. After that, she answered several more questions from her and Eliza; no, people weren't made to wear corsets anymore, they were found to cause medical problems with prolonged use. Yes, gender norms were still a thing, but they weren't nearly as strictly enforced as they used to be in most places - women could show as much skin as they liked, provided they didn't expose their breasts or privates in public - and men could even wear makeup and dresses now if they wanted (they were curious about that, but she summed up drag culture and gender nonconformity as best as she could while they were in the showers). 

Once they were clean, she brought them fresh clothes and headed back out into the theater room. 

Meanwhile, Noah had successfully convinced the men that, no, they didn't need to wear neckerchiefs and waistcoats and jackets indoors, no one was going to think them "naked" for only wearing pants and shirts, and not wearing six layers in the middle of summer wasn't a sign someone was slovenly or of poor status. Why did his sister convince him this was a good idea? He literally had some of the Founding Fathers in his _home_. 

When did his life get so fucking weird? 

* * *

After several delays and many questions, the men returned to the large viewing room, and nearly tripped at the sight of Angelica wearing a t-shirt and body-hugging jeans, and Eliza in a floral summer dress that went to the floor, but left her arms and shoulders uncovered. They both looked quite happy in spite of the situation they were in. 

"Ladies," Washington was the first one to school his expression, lips twitching at Aaron and Alexander's blatant staring, and Philip's expression of discomfort seeing how his mother and aunt were dressed. 

His young son just squeezed passed them and returned to his seat from earlier, curling up and looking between each of them quietly, the shadows under his eyes making some of them question when the last time he slept was. George wanted to say something to him... but he wouldn't even know where to begin. This was his son, but he didn't _know_ that; at this age he didn't even know who the man was in any context most likely, outside of word of mouth or reading the newspaper. Surely any attempt at communicating with a child who appeared so distrustful of everyone in the room would end poorly. 

"Alright, I guess we're ready to start!" Talia flopped back down into her seat and started to reach for the remote before pausing, "Oh, one other thing you should all know first, since it'll probably come as a shock... another big thing that's changed from your time is how we perceive those of different races and cultures than our own." Seeing the confused (but interested) looks on their faces, she added, "Mr. Miranda, when he made the musical, did alter a few details for the sake of story telling, however he also had a cast made up of originally mostly non-white actors and actresses. He himself plays Hamilton, and is of Puerto Rican descent, so is the person who plays Phillip and Laurens. Washington, Hercules Mulligan, Aaron Burr and Angelica are played by African American - Black - actors. The woman who portrays Eliza is of European and Chinese descent, and there are others, but they appear later." 

There were understandably surprised and confused reactions, but no one seemed particularly upset by the revelation, thankfully. 

On the contrary, Angelica and John had the biggest smiles on their faces, having all shared similar dreams for equality among disadvantaged groups (women for Angelica, and black people for John). 

"Yes, Miss Schuyler?" Talia asked, seeing the woman raise a polite hand anxiously. 

She cleared her throat, not used to having all eyes on her but glad to have her voice heard since she was extremely curious now, "You called Black people 'African American'. Not Colonial African or British African... does that mean that the Colonies won the war for independence?" Eyes widening in realization at the implication of this, everyone whipped around to look at the two teenagers. 

Noah chuckled quietly, "Well, America is no longer under British rule by 2019, but I'm not going to give you anymore detail beyond that until we get to Act II. Sorry, no spoilers for this particular subject allowed! Let's start this thing!" Regardless of the bad feelings they had about what they might learn in this performance, it was good to know the future was a more accepting place, and that they would be free at some point. Everyone was looking forward to finding out what exactly happened, however, and getting answers hopefully.

"Alright, I think that's everything for now. Show time!" Noah threw Talia the remote, and she hit start on the filmed Broadway production. 

**[AARON BURR:]**

_**How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman,  
Dropped in the middle of a forgotten  
Spot in the Caribbean by Providence, impoverished, in squalor  
Grow up to be a hero and a scholar?** _

Alexander had started to scowl at the less than flattering description of his home and his mother, but by the end he looked caught off guard at being called a hero. Did that mean he would get to join the Revolution after all? 

The people who knew Hamilton glanced at each other and looked at the scraggly young boy, wondering what exactly had happened on the island he was raised on to make it so difficult for Alexander to escape his past. If the version of him they knew were here, he likely would have never agreed to watching this; not with how intensely private he was about his past. 

Laurens looked back at the screen and perked up as he saw the man he could only assume was meant to be him appear, and continue the narration. 

**[JOHN LAURENS:]**

_**The ten-dollar Founding Father without a father  
Got a lot farther by workin’ a lot harder  
By bein’ a lot smarter,  
By bein’ a self-starter  
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter** _

"Oh, wow! Is that actually true?" Philip asked the younger version of his dad. They were both immensely weirded out by each other, but as his dad never spoke much of his childhood, he wanted to confirm. When Alexander looked at the group and gave a slow nod in response, the older boy grinned, "Hah, that's incredible!" He was proud of how much his father had accomplished at such a young age, even if the reason why wasn't a happy one. 

Alexander just shrugged; he didn't consider it all that impressive, especially considering some of the horrible things he saw among the 'cargo', and clerking wasn't exactly considered a dignified occupation, but he'd done what was necessary to survive. He had enjoyed being left in charge though, far more efficient than being forced to take orders from someone who had no clue what they were even doing.

"What do they mean by the phrase 'ten dollar Founding Father'?" Eliza questioned, raising her hand slightly to get the twins' attention. 

"Oh!" Talia paused the musical for a moment, "Well, Founding Father it basically a term we came up with in the 1900s to describe people who were key figures in developing America into the nation it is today. Most of them are acknowledged uncontested but some figures people still fight over whether they should be included. The most widely accepted ones are Washington, Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, John Jay, James Madison and Benjamin Franklin." She explained, to the disbelief of the two present people who had been named. 

"Why them?" Angelica asked, her interest sparked. History wasn't her favorite subject, but it was important to know some about it. 

Talia smiled mischievously, "You'll find out about most of them later. I can tell you this much, Alexander is considered one because he basically created the current financial system of the country that we still use today; it's brilliant and most people consider it a work of genius for the time it came from, not even Jefferson could dismantle it without risking fucking everything up." She said, causing surprise to cross most of their faces, with the exception of Burr. 

By the end of her explanation, John was beaming with pride. Washington was more composed, but he felt the same fierce pride warning his chest.

“There’s of course many other individuals considered instrumental in the foundation of creating our country, the many signers of the Declaration of Independence, for example, Generals who fought in the war, important government figures, etc. but the names I mentioned are considered the ‘key seven’ people.”

"As for the ten dollar thing..." Noah reached into his pocket and dug out a couple of bills to show them, "We started putting historical figures on our currency, both coin and paper. "Hamilton is on the ten dollar bill, and General Washington is on the one dollar bill." 

"Whoa!" 

"Aww, I want to be on future money too!" 

"Don't worry, Laurens, no one forgets you. They named a whole county after you!" Not to mention his words and actions had helped shape the pro-Abolitionist and Manumission views of the country long after his death; but he couldn't tell him that yet.

Excited chatter broke out.

Washington, meanwhile, just hated that even centuries from his time, Alexander was to be known as being 'without a father'. All because he hadn't told him as soon as he found out that the boy was his own, and claimed him for all to see like he should have? It didn't feel right. His son's mind was ahead of its time, and he couldn't even properly express just how proud he was of him.

Once things settled down again, Talia hit 'play' on the remote again. 

**[THOMAS JEFFERSON:]**

_**And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted** _   
_**Away across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up**_   
_**Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of** _   
_**The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter** _   
  
**[JAMES MADISON:]**

_**Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned,** _   
_**Our man saw his future drip, drippin’ down the drain.** _   
_**Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain,** _   
_**And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain.** _

The mention of the hurricane had Alexander sitting up, his face had drained of all color, gripping the arm rests of his seat tightly.

_No, no, no. Please._

Why had he stayed? He should have left when he had the chance. 

He didn't want to hear about this, his childhood had been horrible enough without the reminders.

Too spooked by the implications of what might be included in the musical, he didn't see the concerned looks exchanged by the other viewers at his reaction. Some of them, such as Burr and Angelica who prided themselves on being educated and up to date, were also wondering what exactly Alexander had wrote. They'd all heard the story of course, how his community scraped up enough funds to send him to the Colonies for school, but they'd never heard exactly what had impressed them so much that they decided to do so. 

Angelica made a note to ask Laurens if he had seen what this refrain was; if it was really that incredible, she wished to read it for herself.

**[BURR:]**

_**Well, the word got around,  
They said, "This kid is insane, man!"  
**_ _**Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland!  
** _ _**"Get your education, don't forget from whence you came, and  
** _ _**The world's gonna know your name!  
What's your name man?"** _

A man stepped out into view on the stage, dressed in white, and the audience in the recording started cheering wildly. 

He did look remarkably similar to Alexander; Washington noticed, his clothing, his mannerisms, even his height. The only difference was the eyes and hair, and that his son had a more boyish look about him; he'd never had a beard before to his knowledge. Other than that, the actor (and playwright, according to the twins) had done a decent impression of his Aide de Camp. 

**[ALEXANDER HAMILTON:]**

_**Alexander Hamilton  
**_ _**My name is Alexander Hamilton,  
** _ _**And there's a million things I haven't done.  
** _ _**But just you wait, just you wait...** _

A woman stepped out on stage, wearing a blue, almost green, dress and a wedding ring; the _look_ shared between the actress and the man playing Hamilton made it abundantly clear to almost everyone in the room that this was none other than Elizabeth Schuyler. 

Eliza herself was, on one hand, very curious to see what their relationship would be like in the future; that if people remembered her even now then clearly they must have had a love that lasted. She was also nervous, on the other hand; did she really want every moment between her and Alexander aired out for the whole world to see? Then she began to sing, and unlike the others who carried a certain amount of energy that made Alexander's life sound impressive or boast-worthy, hers was just empathetic, compassionate and sorrowful.

**[ELIZA HAMILTON:]**

_**When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden,  
**_ _**Two years later see Alex and his mother, bed-ridden,  
** _ _**Half-dead, sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick** _

**[FULL COMPANY MINUS HAMILTON:]**

_**...And Alex got better but his mother went quick.** _

Gasps rang out through the room as that information was revealed; having never been told by their Alexander exactly what his life had been before he immigrated. They’d known he was an orphan - they hadn’t realized his mother had died laying next to him and that he’d struggled to pull through himself.

it _did_ explain why his health was always so fragile though, he was constantly getting seasonal fevers and the way he pushed himself didn’t make him any healthier.

Laurens, who had known Alexander's mother passed away from illness, but didn't know the rest, resisted the urge to go and hug the younger version of his best friend, wishing his Hamilton was here right now, just so he could tell him how sorry he was. No one deserved to have that weighing on their mind, certainly not a little boy. He couldn't imagine how scared he must have felt. _Why didn't you tell me any of this, Alexander? I could have helped you through your pain..._

George's eyes were fixed on Alexander's young face, taking in the way his lips were pressed tightly together, his Cornflower blue eyes shining with unshed tears as he stared straight ahead at the screen, trying not to think about the morning he awoke to find he felt better for the first time in weeks, only to remember that his mother had died right beside him that night, and not in a peaceful manner either; the horrible 'treatments' they were given had arguably made them both worse. He was eleven when she had died, and even now it hurt every single day. The scars from the doctor's scalpel were still on his arms five years later from the bloodletting attempts.

He missed his mom so much.

Of all the stories of his past that Alexander had never breathed a word of, _this_ was the one that Washington wished he had shared the most. How traumatizing it must have been to lose Rachel at such a young age.

_I'm so sorry, son._

**[GEORGE WASHINGTON & COMPANY:]**

_**Moved in with a cousin, the cousin committed suicide,  
** _ _**Left him with nothin' but ruined pride,  
Somethin' new inside, a voice saying,   
**__**"Alex, you gotta fend for yourself!"  
** _ _**He started retreatin' and readin' every treatise on the shelf**_

" _Jesus Christ_." Laurens whispered in a horrified voice.

He knew his lover had lost his entire family, he couldn't really hide it after the first few times John had woken him up from his nightmares, but he'd never given many specific details like this.

Alexander just grimaced at the reminder of Peter Lytton, his stomach churning; he wished it had been as clean of a demise as a noose like the musical was pantomiming. In reality, his cousin had, according to the coroner's report, "shot or stabbed himself to death".

_God, he could still remember the thick scent of blood in the air, the sound of his own terrified screaming as he found Peter's body in his bed._

The members of Hamilton's 'military family' were staring at the screen in complete disbelief, wondering how it was possible for a young child to go through so much heartache and still make it out on the other side a stronger person. Was that why he had been so difficult to get to know, because he had built a wall around him to protect himself after everyone he cared about abandoned him or died?

How many people had he seen _die_ in his boyhood?

**[BURR & COMPANY:] **

_**There would have been nothin' left to do,  
**_ _**For someone less astute  
He would'a been dead or destitute,  
** _ _**Without a cent of restitution!  
**_ _ **Started workin', clerkin' for his late mother's landlord,  
**_ _ **Tradin' sugar cane and rum and all the things he can't afford!**_

 _**Scammin' for every book he can get his hands on,  
** _ _**Plannin' for the future, see him now as he stands on (Oooh)  
** _ _**The bow of the ship headed for a new land,** _

_**In New York you can be a new man!** _

"How old were you when you started working, Alexander?" Eliza asked, her voice soft and gentle in an effort to keep the young version of her fiancé at ease, still seeing out of the corner of her eye as his actor was briskly moving about the stage, thumbing through multiple books at once at a desk, representing his no doubt whirlwind childhood and largely self-taught education. 

The boy, who was fidgeting under the attention that was suddenly on him, avoided making contact with anyone else. He thought of repeating the old lie he had normally used whenever people asked him back on the island, the false birth year he'd had his uncle sign to court documents when he needed to witness for his employers. It was practically second nature for him at this point. He _almost_ put on a cheery smile and said _'Thirteen, more than old enough to work!'_

But he found himself unwilling to lie to this lady that he would supposedly marry one day...

"I was eleven, Miss. Right after Mama—I mean, my mother, died." He answered honestly, and seeing the way the adults in the room tensed up or started whispering under their breath suddenly, he straightened his back. The last thing he wanted was to look so pathetic that they thought they needed to _pity_ him.

"My mother ran a shop of her own from the bottom floor of our apartment, but we couldn't keep it after she passed. I wanted to help my cousin, Peter, who adopted my brother and I, so I took a part time job with our mother's former landlord, Thomas Dipnall. Eventually I became a clerk for David Beekmans' and Nicholas Crugers' trading firm, though the name later changed to Kortright and Cruger when Mr. Beekman left and Mr. Kortright became his new business partner." It was the most he had said since they'd arrived here.

Burr saw it fit to speak up then, because this was the first time hearing Alexander willingly volunteer any information about himself besides his status as an orphan, and other insignificant details he used to deflect questions people had. "What about your inheritance?"

Angelica glared at him for the rude question, but the boy answered anyways. 

"We did not have much, Sir, but she _did_ leave a will bequeathing all of her property to us; Jemmy and I never got it, I'm afraid. Her belongings were seized the same night she passed. Our older brother... well, _half_ brother, I suppose, Peter Lavien, took us to court under the claim that he was Mama's only legitimate child, and that his right to her assets trumped that of her... _whore-children_." Alexander spit the final words out, a look of unbridled hatred in his eyes. His mother had despised her first husband, and it was clear that in the absence of her kindness, her first son had been raised as a spoiled, vindictive brat, determined to rip away the only memories they had left of Rachel despite not having seen her in years. His biggest fear had been that they would treat Mama's slaves (the ones she inherited from his _grand-mère_ , Nounou) unkindly.

His mother had always been kind to them, and taught Alexander and James to treat those in bondage with compassion as well. He had known them since his grandmother passed away and they came to live with them, they had practically helped raise him before Mama died. Being separated from Rebecca, Flora, Esther, and their children, Ajax and the others, had felt like losing even more family to him. He never saw them again after that.

Eliza had her hands covering her mouth at this point, torn between wanting to hug the teenager and wanting to hunt down his half sibling and ex-stepfather and shake some sense into them; John and Washington did not appear to be faring much better.

"They took everything?" Angelica asked, saddened but not particularly surprised, humans were inherently greedy.

" _Non_." Alexander reached into his shirt collar and withdrew a pendant hanging around his neck, a flower-shaped sapphire pendant on a thin gold chain, the sight of which made George's breath catch in his throat. _The necklace he'd given to Rachel back on Nevis_. "She gave this to me the night she died, and my uncle, James Lytton, bought back our books Peter took and returned them to me. I read them so many times they started to fall apart, but I brought them with me when I left the island anyways." He admitted quietly, a hint of a smile on his lips. 

_Thank God for his uncle's kindness_ , Eliza thought, her heart breaking in her chest.

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Alexander Hamilton!  
**_ _**(Alexander Hamilton)** _

_**We are waiting in the wings for you!  
**_ _**(Waiting in the wings for you)** _

_**You could never back down,  
You never learned to take your ti-i-ime~! ** _

"He still hasn't," Burr pointed out in a light tone, attempting to cut some of the tension in the room. 

It didn't work.

 _**Oh, Alexander Hamilton (Alexander Hamilton!),  
**_ _**When America sings for you,  
** _ _**Will they know what you overcame?  
** _ _**Will they know you rewrote the game?  
** _ _**The world will never be the same, Oh~**_

The music became a lot more energetic suddenly as the actor playing Hamilton shed his coat and slipped on a brown one, assisted by the woman most likely representing Eliza, much like the teenage version sitting with them was wearing now. The dancing members of the cast gave him the rest of his props as he ran up the set stairs, like someone worried they were going to miss their boat and running to catch it. 

Aaron couldn't help but wonder why _his_ actor was the one taking Alexander's coat, and not one of the cast members that were close to his character. The man portraying Laurens gave Hamilton his bag and the woman he assumed was playing Angelica (based on her demeanor) handed him a book, but that made _sense_ , those were people Alexander cared about and were very close to. 

So why was he being included?

**[BURR, MEN, & COMPANY:]**

_**The ship is in the harbor now,  
**_ _**See if you can spot him!  
** _ _**Just you wait!** _

_**Another immigrant,  
**_ _**Comin' up from the bottom!  
** _ _**Just you wait!** _

_**His enemies destroyed his rep,  
**_ _**America forgot him!** _

"They couldn't have, not if there's a whole musical about it!" John argued, outraged at the notion that history would bury Alexander, knowing how hard he worked every day to leave his mark.

He knew the other man's legacy - of having done something _worthwhile_ , something to be remembered for - meant everything to him. Saying that he had been forgotten just felt like a twist of the knife on behalf of his best friend.

**[MULLIGAN/MADISON & LAFAYETTE/JEFFERSON:]**

_**We fought with him.** _

**[LAURENS/PHILLIP HAMILTON:]**

_**Me? I died for him.** _

John's face went pale as the man he was pretty sure was meant to be himself said that.

At the same time, Philip was thinking back to the duel he had been about to participate in and wondered if maybe it was actually talking about him. He was about to duel George Eacker for his father's honor, but... he'd heard _stories_ about Laurens, who died in a raid near the end of the war when he was just a baby, and who was trying to end slavery. He hadn't died for his father. So what was that about? Maybe it wasn't about either of them, he couldn't say for sure. 

Alexander frowned, tilting his head; something was off about this... why were some of them speaking in unison with others? It didn't make any sense unless they were trying to... oh! _Double cast, perhaps?_

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Me? I trusted him.** _

_And I always will._

**[ELIZA & ANGELICA & PEGGY/MARIA] **

_**Me? I loved him.** _

Eliza sat up straight and looked more closely at the screen, figuring out quickly which one of the actresses was meant to be her. But... who were the other two? As far as she knew, Alexander had never formally began a courtship with anyone other than herself, had been too busy for that when he arrived at the Colonies to do anything but focus on school and then, as it began, the Revolution. He supposed one of them could have been his mother, but... no, that didn't make sense. 

If platonic or familial love were included in the sentiment, then nearly everyone in this room could be included.

So, who were the other women? It had better not be Kitty Livingston, she despised that woman.

**[BURR:]**

_**And me? I'm the damn fool who shot him!** _

Everyone gasped. 

" _Who—_ " George's hands curled into fists in his seat as he bit back his own shout; if anyone even so much as _thought_ about laying ill-intentioned hands on his son he would kill them himself when they returned home. He was not letting another one of his children die, especially if he could do something to prevent it this time around.

Aaron felt his stomach twist into knots as he saw the frightened expression on the boy's face, and looked away, thinking about how he'd been snatched away to this place by the glowing white light, just before the his duel with Hamilton.

Was he about to kill him that day? 

His gaze wandered over to the twins, and he saw Talia looking back at him; she gave him a faint nod that the others didn't notice before turning back to the screen. 

**[COMPANY:]**

_**There's a million things I haven't done,  
**_ _**But just you wait!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**What's your name, man?** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Alexander Hamilton!** _

The lights dimmed as the first performance of Act I finished.


	3. Aaron Burr, Sir

Before the next performance could begin, a shout rang out from above as a bright light glowed from the ceiling and three figures fell out of it, landing with a painful-sounding crash on the floor, between the theater seats and the massive screen the musical was playing on. Groans and a creative litany of curses left the group of men as they separated their tangled limbs from one another. 

Eliza jumped to her feet, "Alexander!" 

"Herc! Laf!" Laurens beamed. 

"What's going on here?"

Lafayette sat up and rubbed his head, looking around in confusion.

Noah leaned over and whispered to Talia, "I knew we were missing somebody; but they didn't appear when I used my powers earlier. Did you—" His sister shook her head. Huh. How the hell can you _run late_ when you're time travelling? 

A flustered and very much adult Alexander Hamilton rose to his feet, looking perturbed by how ruffled he'd gotten from the fall but otherwise unharmed, "Eliza! My love, I'm so happy to see—" He stopped short when he realized what she was wearing and turned bright red in the face, "Eliza!" He shrugged out of his jacket and quickly threw it over her back to cover her shoulders and arms, "What are you wearing? And why... why do you look so _young?_ " he sputtered in confusion and shock. 

Washington stood up then, "Alexander." 

His son whipped around at the sound of his voice and blanched at the sight of him, "Sir! What... what are we..." 

Why did he look so much younger?

"Pa?" 

Alexander brightened at the sight of his boy, but then suddenly backed away from them all, moving closer to Hercules, "What the hell is happening? How, how do you look so young? All of you?" He demanded of George, "Why do Angelica and Eliza look twenty, and why is my _ten-year-old son_ a teenager?!"

Talia pinched the bridge of her nose, "What year are you from?" 

"And just who are you?!" 

Noah sighed, "Just answer the question so we can answer yours!" 

"1791." Alexander replied curtly. 

Hercules, still sitting on the floor, scratched his head, "1780, I was with the Sons of Liberty when this white light suddenly sucked me in! Why, where are we now?" 

"Oui, 1780. I just reached port in Boston." Lafayette agreed, concerned. 

"2019, watching a musical about Hamilton's life that was made in the year 2015." 

" _I beg your pardon?_ " 

"Mulligan!" Washington turned just in time to see Alexander - the younger one - run over to help pull him off the floor, "Thank God you're here; these people are positively mad!" Seeing the sixteen-year-old boy cling to the arm of the forty-year-old was a strange sight to behold, that was for certain. 

"Alex? Holy _shit_."

Talia whistled sharply before everything could get out of control again, "Everyone sit down!" She demanded, before adding sweetly, "Please and thank you. Hamilton, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette I'm going to give you the same speech we gave your friends." She proceeded to explain why and how they were there, as well as give them the same option she had offered them. 

Hercules, once he realized they were telling the truth, looked like a little kid at Christmas, "Are you joking? That sounds amazing, I'm staying." 

"A chance to get to know _le petit lion_ better? Count me in."

Alexander looked, somehow, even more horrified than his child counterpart had been at the idea of everyone seeing his story plastered across the screen. But then he considered how much time would have passed between his era and this one, and relaxed a little as he took a seat; it couldn't possibly be that accurate, right? And he was positively exhausted. Looking at Eliza made his stomach twist unpleasantly, reminding him of what he'd almost been about to do before being dragged here. Then, he looked at Laurens (God, was he really so _young_ when he died?) and felt his throat constrict with emotion. 

_I should have been with you, my dear Laurens. Forgive me._

"Alright, now that we've got all that bullshit out of the way, let's continue where we left off; we'll take a break in a little bit so everyone can get something to eat." Noah suggested, flopping back down into his chair. 

**[COMPANY:]**

_**1776  
** **New York City**_

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Pardon me, are you Aaron Burr, Sir?** _

Washington's eyes widened and he looked at Alexander before his gaze shifted towards the other man, eyes narrowing. He wanted to confront him now, but hesitated. If it turned out to be a mistake on the part of the playwright, or even an accident... no, he wouldn't attack Hamilton's rival, no matter how tempted he was. However, if at any point the musical or one of the twins let it slip that Burr had, in fact, intentionally harmed his child... then things were going to become much uglier. 

He had taken a vow not to let Hamilton be harmed again after last time and he didn't plan on breaking it.

**[BURR:]**

_**That depends, who's asking?** _

The room couldn't help but laugh at his noncommittal response. 

"Why did it matter who was asking, were you suddenly not yourself depending on who he was?" Angelica inquired.

Burr rolled his eyes, "I was just asking who he was, not denying my own identity." 

**[HAMILTON:]**

**_Oh well sure!_  
_Sir, I'm Alexander Hamilton,_  
_I'm at your service, Sir,_  
_I have been looking for you!_  
**

**[BURR:]**

_**I'm getting nervous.** _

"If you knew what was good for you, you'd be running in the opposite direction!" Hercules teased, looking down at the teenage version of Alexander, who was still glued to his side.

"Hey!" The adult version protested, causing Eliza and Philip to chuckle at his expense. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Sir, I heard your name at Princeton** _  
_**I was seeking an accelerated course of study,** _  
_**When I got sort out of sorts with a buddy of yours;** _  
_**I may have punched him.** _

_**It’s a blur, Sir,** _  
_**He handles the financials...?** _

**[BURR:]**

_**You punched the bursar?** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**...Yes!** _

"Alexander!"

Both versions of Hamilton jumped at the several voices addressing them simultaneously, ranging from scolding (Eliza, Washington), to amused and shocked (Angelica and Laurens), and even approval ( _"Did you use the move I showed you, kid?" Hercules asked, bouncily_.)

"Wait, how are we supposed to distinguish the two of them and make it clear which one we're talking to? They have the same name!" Philip pointed out, realizing the issue that could quickly arise, causing them to pause and consider it for a moment. The difference was that older Alexander would have all of his younger counterpart's memories, while the younger one only had the knowledge the elder possessed up until he arrived here. Jesus, time travel was a headache!

Angelica looked at the teen version of her (future) brother-in-law, "Do you have a nickname?" 

He shrugged, "...My brother used to call me Alex." He said softly.

"That works."

_**I wanted to do what you did:**_  
_**Graduate in two, then join the Revolution!**_  
_**He looked at me like I was stupid,**_  
_**I’m not stupid!** _  
_**So how’d you do it?** _  
_**How’d you graduate so fast?** _

"Princeton?" Aaron, accidentally, asked out loud, puzzled. 

Talia looked up from her phone, "They're referring to the College of New Jersey. It was renamed Princeton University in 1896."

"I see. Thank you for clearing that up."

**[BURR:]**

_**It was my parents' dying wish before they passed.** _

_'_ _You neglected to mention the part where your father was the president and a founder of the college',_ Alexander thought, amused, though seeing the meeting retold in talk-singing did make him realize how abrupt and even nosy he must have come across as, so he supposed he couldn't blame the other man for not being upfront with the personal details. Besides, he knew Burr had worked hard to get into the school regardless of how much influence his father's role might have played in it.

At least it wasn't entirely accurate; he'd actually been a lot more embarrassing in real life. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**You're an orphan?** _  
_**Of course, I'm an orphan!** _  
_**God, I wish there was a war!** _  
_**Then we could prove that we're worth more,** _  
_**Than anyone bargained for!** _

"Calm down, Hammy, you just met the man!"

Alexander cringed at how naive he was being portrayed as, while the others laughed at the motor-mouth's hyperactivity starting to come out. 

He was also confused about the whether the timeline of these events were going to be historically accurate; because by 1776, the war was already well underway, and he had already been enrolled in college, so wishing for one would have been pointless.

**[BURR:]**

_**Can I buy you a drink?** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**That would be nice.** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**While we’re talking, let me offer you some free advice:** _  
_**Talk less.** _

"Charging by the minute would be a better investment." Hercules told Burr seriously.

Aaron blinked, a little surprised the man was speaking to him at all; he was under the impression none of them cared too much for him. "I'll, uh, keep that in mind for next time..."

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**What?** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**Smile more.** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Ha!** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**Don't let them know what you're against or what you're for.** _

"Lost cause, Burr."

The man just shook his head while Alexander stuck his tongue out at John.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**You can't be serious.** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**You want to get ahead?** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**...Yes.** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Fools who run their mouths off wind up dead.** _

The word _foreshadowing_ went unspoken. 

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Yo yo yo yo yo! What time is it?** _  
  


Alexander flinched; introducing John after that line just felt... _cruel_.

He bowed his head for a moment and looked down at the three gold interlocking rings on his hand that twisted together and made up a single band with three stones, going diagonally from top left to bottom right across the face of the ring: a deep and gleaming onyx, the fiery red-orange garnet, and a pale blue aquamarine the color of clean seawater. Together they made up the birthstones of Eliza, himself, and John... he'd had the matching set of three made for them after his wife told him that she would never fault him for loving Laurens; he hadn't told her about their previous relationship, but she had guessed it all on her own after meeting him. 

That had been one of the happiest days of his life, telling John that Eliza did not consider it infidelity and would not feel threatened if they continued to see one another... so long as he swore not to be with another woman or go behind her back, and he had. Alexander had taken her in his arms and promised her fervently. It hadn't mattered to her that John wasn't able to love her as Alexander loved them _both_ , because they were still a family, and the rings were evidence of that; each of them wore their own birthstone in the center with the other two flanking it. 

Which meant John was still wearing his when he left for South Carolina... and when he was killed.

Suddenly, the Treasury Secretary had no desire to watch this.

The others in the Revolutionary Set were all excited though, oblivious to what was in store for one of their closest friends. "It's us! I wonder how we'll be portrayed!"

"Shh!" Lafayette laughed. 

_'It's nice to see them together again without the stress of war weighing on their minds,'_ Washington thought.

**[LAURENS, MULLIGAN:]**

_**Showtime!** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**...Like I said...** _  
  
**[LAURENS:]**

_**Showtime! Showtime! Yo!** _  
_**I’m John Laurens in the place to be!** _  
_**Uh, two pints o' Sam Adams, but I'm working on three, uh!** _  
_**Those Redcoats don't want it with me,** _  
_**Cause I will pop chick-a-pop these cops 'til I'm free!** _

"Uh, what was that?" Angelica questioned at the sound effect Laurens' actor made with his mouth. 

The others shrugged, but it was surprisingly the younger Alex that spoke up, "It's an onomatopoeia, maybe?" He suggested, prompting some confusion for those that didn't know Greek. "I think he's supposed to be mimicking the sound of a gun." He told them, and averted eye contact when the others continued to look at him. "The 'chick-a' sound is probably meant to be the clicking noise a pistol makes when you cock it, and the 'pop' sound is the shot itself. At least, that's what I think. It makes sense if they're trying to include relevant sound effects but can only use their mouths. Firing a real gun on stage during a song would likely upset the audience." 

"...Actually, that makes sense." Hercules said after giving it a moment of thought.

_Smart kid._

**[LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Ah, oui oui, mon ami, je m'appelle Lafayette!** _  
_**The Lancelot of the Revolutionary set!** _  
_**I came from afar just to say "Bonsoir!"** _  
_**Tell the king, “Casse-toi!”  
Who's the best? C’est moi!** _

Philip and several of the others started laughing while the Frenchman groaned and covered his face in embarrassment.

Hercules patted his friend's arm while chuckling; at least his English was a lot better now!

"What did he say?" 

Hamilton offered a reluctant half-smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, " _'Yes, yes, my friend, I am Lafayette. I came from afar just to say 'Good evening'. Tell the King 'beat it' Who's the best? It's me!'_ Although _'casse-toi'_ colloquially also conveys the same level of aggression as telling someone to go fu-"

"Alexander!" George scolded, gesturing to Philip, Alex, Noah and Talia. 

"They asked!"

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Brrrah, brraaah! I am Hercules Mulligan** _  
_**Up in it, lovin’ it** _  
_**Yes I heard your mother say “come again?”** _

**[LAURENS, LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!** _  
  
**MULLIGAN:**

_**Lock up your daughters and horses, of course** **!  
It's hard to have intercourse over four sets of corsets!** _

Talia snorted, "Too much information."

"Horses, Mulligan, really?" 

"It's a joke! I'm pretty sure it is, anyways."

Noah laughed, "Animal-fucking jokes, can't go wrong there when it comes to comedy!"

His words caused some of the others to give him weird or disgusted looks.

**[LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Wow!**_

**[LAURENS:]**

_**No more sex,** _  
_**Pour me another brew, son!** _  
_**Let’s raise a couple more!** _  
  
**[LAURENS, LAFAYETTE, MULLIGAN:]**

_**To the Revolution!** _

"Please tell me you didn't _actually_ openly talk about revolting against the King in the middle of a crowded bar when you met?" George asked, and when Alexander, Gilbert, Hercules and John just exchanged looks with each other in an awkward silence, he pinched the bridge of his nose.

_'Lord, give me strength. How did any of them make it to adulthood in the first place?'_

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Well if it ain’t the prodigy of Princeton College!** _

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Aaron Burr!** _  
  
**[LAURENS:]**

_**Give us a verse, drop some knowledge!** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**Good luck with that** _  
_**You’re takin’ a stand** _  
_**You spit, I’mma sit** _  
_**We’ll see where we land** _

"You!" Hamilton pointed at Aaron, "Need to have opinions!" 

"Sure, but not at the height of a rebellion. I'd rather not end up swinging from a noose, good Sir." 

Noah piped up, "But if you were in the Revolution that means you were _already_ risking being hanged for treason against the Crown in the first place; why bother to mince your opinions when you're actively rebelling and resisting against a hostile form of government? They would still gladly see you dead regardless of whether you said mean things about them over drinks with your friends." he pointed out, earning some impressed looks from a couple of the soldiers and a pointed silence from Burr.

**[LAFAYETTE, MULLIGAN:]**

_**Booooo/Ohhhhhh!** _  
  
**[LAURENS:]**

_**Burr, the Revolution’s imminent** _  
_**What do you stall for?** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**If you stand for nothing, Burr, what’ll you fall for?** _  
  
**[LAURENS, MULLIGAN, LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Oooooh!** _  
  
**[LAURENS:]**

_**Who are you?** _  
  
**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Who are you?** _

"That doesn't make any sense," Hercules frowned, "I met Alex almost as soon as he got to New York. He lived with Elizabeth and I for _months_ , for God's sake!"

Laurens (and Washington) looked at them both upon hearing that, "He did?"

"Yes," Hamilton spoke up at the same time as his teenage self nodded in agreement. "Herc's brother knew the people I clerked for back on St. Croix; he introduced us and I ended up lodging with him while his brother helped me sell off the cargo used to pay for my schooling." The cargo in question being Caribbean sugar that Mr. Cruger has generously donated to him so he could pay his expenses once he arrived in the Colonies.

John looked away, frowning.

He was still in London at this point in the musical; he didn't come to America or join the Continental Army until 1777. He did meet Hamilton for the first time when he was with Lafayette and Hercules in a bar though. Still, why had neither of them mentioned rooming together before? A flicker of jealous unfurled in the pit of his stomach. He knew it was ridiculous; Alexander wasn't even sixteen yet when he arrived in Boston in October of '72, Hercules would have been thirty-two. To his knowledge, Herc had never shown even the slightest interest in men physically, and even if he was, he'd never take advantage of someone so much younger than him. 

Still, it bothered him to realize they'd known each other a whole four years before he and Alexander had ever been acquainted. 

As much as it stung to realize his boy had only been _fifteen_ when he arrived in their country, trying and no doubt struggling to make it on his own, George made a mental note to thank Mulligan for looking out for his son. He'd always wondered why the man was so very protective over him, and while Alexander did have that effect on people, he could tell there was probably some paternal feelings over the young man on behalf of the Irishman. 

**[LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Who are you?** _  
  
**[LAURENS, MULLIGAN, LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Who, who is this kid?  
What's he gonna do?** _

"So many wonderful things," Eliza said confidently, having eyes only for the man she had intended to marry today, not oblivious to the fact that even many years later he was apparently still just as handsome as before. 

Hamilton smiled hesitantly, before turning his attention back to the screen as the last performance seamlessly opened into the next one. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, sorry this took so long! I was trying to figure out how to introduce more characters without making it awkward! And to anyone who is wondering what the other's huge choices were that they have a chance to change if they want to due to the whole time travelling thing, I'll list them since it might take a while for the characters to come out and say it themselves: 
> 
> (Little) Alex: Coming to British America in the first place instead of choosing to stay on the islands and live a quiet life.  
> Alexander: Saying 'yes' to Maria and inadvertently destroying his family's lives and his own rep.  
> Angelica: Introducing Alexander to Eliza instead of taking him for herself.  
> Burr: Killing Hamilton.  
> Philip: Brashly challenging George Eacker to a duel.  
> Eliza: Marrying Alexander, when he's a relentless workaholic in the future obsessed with his legacy.  
> Washington: Sending Alexander home, using the excuse that it was because of his participation in the Lee vs Laurens duel when in reality it was because Eliza was pregnant, rather than just telling him outright why he needed to go. Also not telling Alexander he's his bio father.  
> Lafayette: Leaving his wife and daughter behind in France (twice!) to help America fight Britain.  
> Laurens: Not retreating when he had the chance, also you may have noticed he has big feels for Alexander so that could be a part of it too (not telling him he loved him before he died).  
> Hercules: I haven't decided yet! I don't know him as well as some of the others, if you have an idea please feel free to tell me!


	4. My Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "That reminds me, we should probably get something to eat soon, you've all been here a while already." Noah suggested.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**Hey yo, I'm just like my country;** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,** _  
_**And I'm not throwing away my shot!** _

"This one is pretty catchy, I like it!" Laurens beamed. 

The twins nodded, and Talia said, "It really is, and even though it's repetitive and that line gets reused a lot during the musical, it's actually one of the most popular and upbeat numbers in the show."

_**I'mma get a scholarship to King's College!** _  
_**I probably shouldn't brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish,** _  
_**The problem is I got a lot of brains, but no polish** _  
_**I gotta holler just to be heard,** _  
_**With every word I drop knowledge!** _

"But I enrolled at King's College in 1773, as a private student and then officially in '74; this timeline doesn't make a lot of sense." Alexander noted, although he couldn't deny that it was quite good so far. The mindset was pretty accurate; he'd showed up in America with absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain, and he was determined to make something of the "shot" he had been given, so to speak. 

Still, he had a feeling the whole show wouldn't be all bright and cheerful like this. 

"Don't worry, most people are well aware the musical isn't 100% accurate. The issue is that this is A) meant to entertain an audience so some things are going to be added or excluded just to make it more interesting, and B) stage plays very rarely reach three hours, so playwrights are left trying to squeeze two or three decades of history into two hours and forty-five minutes. You'll notice details like this later, such as where all of the winters of the war are sort of crammed into one for the sake of saving time, or Mrs. Hamilton being pregnant in 1778 after the Battle of Monmouth despite the fact that you didn't get married until 1780." Talia explained.

_**I'm a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal!** _  
_**Tryin' to reach my goal, my power of speech: unimpeachable!** _  
_**Only nineteen but my mind is older,** _  
_**These New York City streets get colder,** _  
_**I shoulder every burden, every disadvantage!** _  
_**I have learned to manage,** _  
_**I don't have a gun to brandish; I walk these streets famished!** _

_A nineteen year old has no place at war._ George thought grimly; he hadn't known how old the boy was when he had hired him, and while it wasn't forbidden for him to, he had always felt sickened at the idea of sending child soldiers out onto the battlefield; there were some as young as fifteen who had volunteered with parental consent and it left an unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't until Alexander had already been his Aide de Camp for a considerable amount of time that he figured out the truth, which had put a harsher perspective on everything: His son had intended to join the Revolution _after_ he graduated from college, but because King's College was turned into a military hospital at the outbreak of the war, he couldn't finish his studies. Not only that, the eighteen-year-old would have had nowhere to go. 

That was the sad reality for many young men at the time; join the war and at least have a hope of financial compensation or end up on the streets while all hell broke loose. 

_**The plan is to fan this spark into a flame,** _  
_**But damn, it's getting dark so let me spell out my name!** _  
_**I am the—** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET]**

_**A-L, E-X, A-N, D** _  
_**E-R—we are—meant to be!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**A colony that runs independently!** _  
_**Meanwhile, Britain keeps shitting on us endlessly,** _  
_**Essentially, they tax us relentlessly,** _  
_**Then King George turns around, runs a spending spree,** _  
_**He ain't never gonna set his descendants free,** _  
_**So there will be a revolution in this century!** _  
_**ENTER ME!** _

**[LAURENS, LAFAYETTE, MULLIGAN:]**

**_He says in parentheses!_  
**

"Oh, I get it! Like stage directions." Philip said, "Clever."

"This is so meta." Noah laughed, getting a few confused looks as a result.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Don't be shocked when your history book mentions me;** _  
_**I will lay down my life if it sets us free!** _

"No you will not!" Eliza nearly growled, grabbing her fiance/husband by the arm, and he gulped, looking around for some help only to see that apparently everyone in the room except the twins and Burr had similar expressions on their faces. 

He rubbed the back of his neck, "O-Okay, okay, I get it! If it makes you feel better," he gestured to himself, "From the future, still alive." 

_**Eventually you'll see my ascendancy!** _

**[HAMILTON & LAURENS:] **

_**And I am not throwing away my shot (my shot)!** _  
_**I am not throwing away my shot (my shot)!** _  
_**Hey yo, I'm just like my country** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy and hungry,** _  
_**And I am not throwing away my shot!** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET:]**

_**I am not throwing away my shot** _  
_**I am not throwing away my shot** _  
_**Hey yo, I'm just like my country** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy, and hungry** _  
_**And I'm not throwing away my shot** _  
_**It's time to take a shot!** _

"You men _do_ know you're still in a public bar, right?" Angelica pointed out. 

Alexander replied, "You _do_ know we didn't actually break out in song and dance, right? It's entertainment, not reality." At most they had animatedly discussed their excitement over the Revolution, and their desires for what they would have liked to see change if the Colonies won the war.

**[LAFAYETTE:]**

_**I dream of life without the monarchy** _  
_**The unrest in France will lead to "onarchy"** _  
_**"Onarchy?" How you say, how you s—Oh, anarchy!** _  
_**When I fight I make the other side panicky** _  
_**With my** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET:]**

_**Shot!** _

Lafayette moaned in horror and hid his face in Hercules' arm, "I said _onarchy_ , my English was so bad they make fun of me for it over two hundred years later!" he lamented.

Mulligan just chuckled and patted his back comfortingly.

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Yo, I'm a tailor's apprentice,  
And I got y'all knuckleheads in loco parentis!  
I'm joining the rebellion cuz I know it's my chance  
To socially advance, instead of sewin' some pants!  
I'm gonna take a** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET:]**

_**Shot!** _

Alexander turned to Herc, "I thought you _owned_ your own business?" 

His friend's eyebrows were scrunched together in confusion, "I do. They must have gotten that part mixed up or something."

"Loco parentis?" Laurens asked, accusingly. 

Hercules threw his arms around the younger Alex and Lafayette while shooting a grin at John, "Damn right! Someone's gotta look after you youngsters and keep you all out of trouble."

"Mulligan, you're half the reason we get in trouble in the first place."

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Eh, but we'll never be truly free,** _  
_**Until those in bondage have the same rights as you and me!** _  
_**You and I, do or die, wait 'til I sally in on a stallion,** _  
_**With the first black battalion!** _  
_**Have another** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET:]**

_**Shot!** _

"Hell yeah!" John shouted in agreement with himself, alongside his friends, before suddenly a thought occurred to him and he whipped around to look at the twins, "Did we? I mean, I know black people are allowed to be in the musical but... are they free now, or—"

"Calm down," Noah told him, gently. "It took a bit longer than you probably would have liked, but... well, yes." Everyone stared at him and Laurens in particular was speechless; he felt Alexander move closer and take his hand. “It still happens in some places in the world, but we outlawed that shit a long time ago and there are people and organizations dedicated to stopping those sorts of human rights violations. I'm not an expert in history but I'll sum it up for you. While the Revolution was America declaring it's independence, the Civil War, which occurred between 1861 and 1865, basically decided what kind of nation it would be." He had the entire room's attention now, as Talia had paused the musical.

"There's more to it than that, a lot factored into the war, but it answered two of the most important questions: whether the United States would be a dissolvable confederation of sovereign states or an indivisible nation with a sovereign national government; and also whether this nation, born of a declaration that _all people_ were created with an equal right to liberty, would continue to exist as the largest slave-holding country in the world." The teenage boy continued. "The North was victorious and the United States of America has been a single nation ever since, and abolished the institution of slavery that divided us right from the start." 

John didn't even try to hide the tears running down his cheeks now, just bowed his head and took a few deep breaths as Lafayette (who had also teared up) and Hercules joined him, knowing how much this meant to him, to all of them. 

"...How many people died in the Civil War?" Washington asked, quietly, his heart wrenching at the thought of more lives lost in a fight, this time among themselves. He looked at the group of boys on the floor, his son and the others that he saw in the same light regardless of their relation to him, and felt a heavy weight set in the pit of his stomach. Guilt.

Noah didn't look at the General for a long time, and eventually exhaled, "The exact numbers are uncertain... documentation can only tell us so much. The current estimate is somewhere between 625,000 to 750,000 soldiers... and an undetermined number of civilians." He said quietly. 

The room went deathly silent, the horror and despair and shock visible on everyone's faces. 

Glancing around the room, Talia quietly decided it was best not to tell them that the fighting didn't stop there; not with WWI and WWII in the next century, and the Vietnam and Korean and Cold Wars, as well as the ones in Iraq and Afghanistan. She figured they would probably experience enough heartbreak over the next couple of days. 

**[BURR:]**

_**Geniuses, lower your voices.** _  
_**You keep out of trouble and you double your choices.** _  
_**I'm with you, but the situation is fraught.** _  
_**You've got to be carefully taught:** _  
_**If you talk you're gonna get shot!** _

"At least someone is worried about keeping them alive." Angelica huffed quietly but otherwise no one commented, still too shaken up from the information revealed not too long ago.

Meanwhile, Aaron was staring down at his hands; he'd been prepared to shoot Hamilton not two hours ago, and now he was watching a reenactment of their first meeting. It didn't feel right. He looked over at the older Alexander, still younger than the version he was about to duel with, and swallowed, turning his head away once more to focus back on the screen. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Burr, check what we got:** _  
_**Mr. Lafayette, hard rock like Lancelot.** _  
_**I think your pants look hot.** _  
_**Laurens I like you a lot!** _

His friends all grinned over at Alexander and he smiled back a little.

This was... weird, but it was nice seeing them all again. 

_**Let's hatch a plot blacker than the kettle callin' the pot!  
What're the odds the gods would put us all in one spot?   
Poppin' a squat on a conventional wisdom,  
Like it or not! A bunch of Revolutionary manumission abolitionists?  
Give me a position, show me where the ammunition is!** _

Washington audibly sighed and Alexander bit his lip to hold back a laugh. 

He knew it wasn't funny, and that he'd given the General plenty of headaches with his begging to be transferred to an actual unit, but he couldn't bring himself to regret it. Yorktown had won them the battle and he wouldn't have traded being on the front lines for anything...

Then he saw John smiling, squeezed between Lafayette and Hercules and chatting like old times. 

Well, he wouldn't trade it for _almost_ anything.

_**Oh, am I talkin' too loud?** _  
_**Sometimes I get over excited, shoot off at the mouth.** _  
_**I never had a group of friends before,** _  
_**I promise that I'll make ya'll proud.** _

"Me when I don't take my ADHD meds," Noah whispered to his sister and she snickered.

Angelica looked at Hamilton strangely, "You didn't have friends?" she asked, finding it hard to believe. From the moment she had met the man he had been intelligent, witty, well-spoken and charming, and he'd had plenty of people willing to at least briefly put a roof over his head when he'd arrived in the Colonies and needed somewhere to stay while receiving his education.

The man opened his mouth to answer, the words on the tip of his tongue. _Well of course I did!_

But his younger self cut in without pretense, "Friends are for children." 

Aaron's eyebrows knitted together, "You are a child, though." he pointed out, and was ignored by the young boy.

"My peers didn't want to _spend time_ with the penniless whore's son, born out of wedlock, whose father walked out on him and whose family members kept dropping like flies whenever he was around." Alex said harshly, immediately draining the energy out of the room. "They threw rocks at us instead. Besides, making acquaintances would have been a waste of time. I was more concerned with feeding myself and getting away from that place, there was no time for _playing_."

Hamilton shifted uncomfortably at the variety of sympathetic and sad expressions on everyone's faces; he saw the pain on George's face and turned his head away to glower at his childhood self. He needed to tell that boy to keep his cynicism to himself; it was hurting the people he cared about. Not to mention it was all bullshit anyways. Alexander had friends, even if he refused to call them that; but he knew his younger self well enough to realize the boy was in denial about needing other people, because of how many times he'd been left alone. 

It was easier to convince yourself that you didn't need _anyone_ , than to admit to yourself the people you _did_ have could leave you at any time.

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Let's get this guy in front of a crowd!** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**Hey yo, I'm just like my country,** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,** _  
_**And I'm not throwing away my shot!** _  
  
_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _  
_**Hey yo, I'm just like my country,** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,** _  
_**And I'm not throwing away my shot!** _  
  
**[LAURENS & THE REV SET:]**

_**Everybody sing!** _  
_**Woah-woah, wo-oh-oh (Woah-woah, wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**Hey** _  
_**Wo-oh-oh (Wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**Wooh!!** _  
_**Wo-oh-oh (Wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**Sing let 'em hear ya! (Yeah)** _  
  
**[LAURENS and (COMPANY):]**

_**Let's go! (Woah-woah, wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**I said, shout it to the rooftops!** _  
_**(Wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**Said to the rooftops** _  
_**(Wo-oh-oh)** _  
_**Now come on!** _  
_**(Yeah)** _  
_**Now come on, let's go!** _

Most of the gathered group began swaying to the music while only being half aware of it. It was a pretty catchy tune, and it brought back a lot of the feelings of determination and excitement from the war, when the Revolution had just begun, before all the grim reminders of how terrifying and dangerous it all was came back to them. 

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Rise up!** _  
_**When you're living on your knees, you rise up!** _  
_**Tell your brother that he's got to rise up!** _  
_**Tell your sister that she's got to rise up!** _  
  
**[LAURENS & ENSEMBLE and (COMPANY):]**

_**When are these colonies gonna rise up?** _  
_**(Whoa, woah)** _  
_**When are these colonies gonna rise up! (Woah)** _  
_**When are these colonies gonna rise up! (Woah)** _  
_**When are these colonies gonna rise up! (Woah)** _  
_**Rise up!** _

_Rise up_ , John thought to himself, _I like it_.

"Thank you." Angelica said quietly to Laurens, and he looked at her in confusion, so she clarified, "For remembering that women were there too, that we could play a part and help contribute too." 

_Oh_. He smiled and gave her two thumbs up. 

Talia made herself a reminder to let Angelica know that women's efforts hadn't gone overlooked in the war; even if they weren't on the battlefield, they'd helped in huge ways. They boycotted British Loyalists and only bought from Patriot supporters, they'd lent their skills to the soldiers; cooking for them, treating injuries, bringing supplies, even helping raid for necessities they couldn't have gone without. 

Even when their voices were often ignored, women had been there to help support the causes they believed in.

The tune was cheering the others up; the actor for Laurens' was infectiously optimistic about the Revolution and it was hard to ignore. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I imagine death so much it feels more like a memory.** _

Immediately, it was like all the positive energy was sucked once more from the room as the song abruptly took on a much darker tone. 

Hamilton pointedly ignored the concerned glances that were directed at him.

**When's it gonna get me?**  
**In my sleep? Seven feet ahead of me?**  
**If I see it coming, do I run or do I let it be?**  
**Is it like a beat without a melody?**

"Alexander, son..." Washington touched his the man's shoulder and he went stiff as a statue under it and shook his head. The way the younger man refused to meet his eyes and the nervous fidgeting of his hands made his heart crack a little. "You can talk to me about anything, you know that, right?"

Nope. Absolutely not, he had _nothing_ to say about this. 

Not with George or anyone else. 

It didn't matter.

He was _fine_.

"I know." He said simply, if only so he'd drop the subject.

_**See, I never thought I'd live past twenty,** _  
_**Where I come from some get half as many.** _  
_**Ask anybody why we livin' fast and we laugh, reach for a flask,** _  
_**We have to make this moment last, that's plenty!**_

"It's really not... Most people have barely begun to live by twenty." Eliza said softly. 

Alexander shook his head, "Not on the islands. I'd nearly died three times by that age," he said, trying not to meet anyone's eyes. He could feel their stares burning into him. "I had cousins that contracted disease and died before they even turned eight. My mother had a daughter, Mary, who died at two weeks old. My maternal grandparents had several children together but only four of them survived to adulthood. It's not fair or right, but that's just the way life is. The ones who make it off alive to somewhere better are considered lucky. The ones that don't just try to accomplish as much as they can before it's too late." 

Burr tore his gaze off of Hamilton and stared at the floor.

Perhaps _that_ was why he always acted like he was running out of time... he'd never realized...

_**Scratch that** _  
_**This is not a moment, it's the movement** _  
_**Where all the hungriest brothers with something to prove went.** _  
_**Foes oppose us, we take an honest stand,** _  
_**We roll in like Moses, claimin' our Promised Land.** _

_**And? If we win our independence?** _  
_**Is that a guarantee of freedom for our descendants?** _  
_**Or will the blood we shed begin an endless** _  
_**Cycle of vengeance and death with no defendants?** _

Everyone was silent, and it was clear that many of the soldiers who had or were participating in the war had stopped to think about these words; what if by doing this they made things worse? What if the sacrifices just ended up making everything bloodier and more violent?

But they couldn't give up, now that they knew there was a reason to keep fighting, for a brighter future. 

_We have to do whatever it takes. For freedom for all._ Laurens thought, determined.

_**I know the action on the street is excitin'** _  
_**But Jesus, between all the bleedin' and fightin'** _  
_**I've been readin' and writin'** _  
_**We need to handle our financial situation!** _  
_**Are we a nation of states? What's the state of our nation?** _

Even at nineteen, Alexander was already plagued with thoughts about his own demise, and how to make the country a better place. Even before he entered the war he considered America _his country_.

A single glance at the younger version of the boy told anyone wondering that even at fifteen, sixteen years of age he was thinking those things. 

No wonder he was always in a hurry.

_**I'm past patiently waitin'!** _  
_**I'm passionately smashin' every expectation!** _  
_**Every action's an act of creation!** _  
_**I'm laughin' in the face of casualties and sorrow,** _  
_**For the first time I'm thinkin' past tomorrow!** _  
  


Hercules whistled, "Holy shit. That's impressive."

"For the first time? Really?" Eliza questioned, trying not to let it show how bothered she was by those thoughts. "Is that really how you felt, Alexander?" 

The man refused to answer. 

A voice, partly annoyed and partly exasperated spoke up then, "Obviously, yes. It's hard not to live day to day when everyone who you've ever loved has died or left, and all you can think about is whether or not you will have enough food to survive until your next payment, and whether you'll even live to see it because another freak natural disaster might wipe your home off the map!" Young Alex was scowling; he felt like everyone was judging him. Or both of them, rather. It wasn't fair. 

He'd had to fight every day to survive since he was twelve years old. 

_This is my fault._ Washington thought. _I wasn’t there for him, and he paid the price for it; he paid for it his entire life._

**[HAMILTON & COMPANY:] **

_**And I am not throwin' away my shot!** _  
_**I am not throwin away my shot!** _  
_**Hey, yo, I'm just like my country,** _  
_**I'm young, scrappy, and hungry,** _  
_**And I'm not throwin' away my shot!** _

**[THE REVOLUTIONARY SET & (ENSEMBLE):]**

_**We gonna rise up; time to take a shot!** _  
_**(Not thrown’ away my shot!)** _  
_**We gonna rise up; time to take a shot!** _  
_**(Not throwin’ away my shot!)** _  
  
_**We gonna (rise up, rise up)!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**It’s time to take a shot** _

**[REV SET & (ENSEMBLE):]**

_**(Rise up, rise up)** _  
_**It’s time to take a shot (rise up, rise up)** _  
_**(Wo-oah) Time to take a shot (rise up)** _  
_**Take a shot, a shot, a shot, (Oh-Oh, oh)** _  
_**A-yo, it's time to take a shot (Woah, oh-oh oh)** _  
_**Time to take a shot (Woah-oh)** _  
_**And I am (And I am)** _  
_**Not throwing away my** _  
  
**[COMPANY:]**

_**Not throwing away my shot!** _

"Well..." Talia cleared her throat, looking around at the awkwardly silent group of historical figures, "The, uh, next song is a really short one, so how about we watch that one and then take a break, we can get some lunch... er, dinner? Yeah, dinner, and anyone who needs to talk can do that then, sound good?" 

The General was looking at Alexander, who was refusing to make eye-contact with anybody, as was the younger version of him, and sighed, "I think that would be best, Miss...?" 

Noah waved his hand, "Just call us by our first names. Surnames don't really matter too much here." He said rather than answer the question, and Angelica narrowed her eyes as the boy folded his arms behind his head, in an obvious effort to look nonchalant. Washington seemed a bit suspicious too, but they didn't question it, and instead waited for the next performance, which opened up in a bar. 

Because of course it did. 

Truly, after the afternoon they'd had he almost wanted to drink, too.


	5. Story Of Tonight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick warning for the use of LGBT related slurs in this chapter, though in an informative way rather than an insulting way. The gang learns that present day America is more advanced than they originally thought!

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I may not live to see our glory!** _

A tiny smile made it's way onto Alexander's face. 

He had lived to see the glory; but they'd lost so many people in the process. He looked over at John and their other friends and sighed. Despite knowing it was all for the best, a part of him couldn't help but wonder if freedom had really been worth everything they'd sacrificed. 

Suddenly, a hand touched his shoulder and he glanced up to see Washington watching him with a somber expression, no doubt knowing what he was thinking. 

Looking at the older man, he gave a slight nod of gratitude and turned his attention back to the screen.

**[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS:]**

_**I may not live to see our glory!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**But I will gladly join the fight!** _

**[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS:]**

_**But I will gladly join the fight!** _

"...aaaaaand you are all completely wasted." Noah laughed. 

Hercules gave them both a calculating look. 

"What?" Talia asked. 

He looked away, "Oh, nothing." 

Secretly, he had been hoping they had some alcohol stashed somewhere around here; but the others probably wouldn't approve of him asking a couple of children about that; and he wasn't really interested in getting slapped upside the head today.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**And when our children tell our story...** _

**[LAFAYETTE/MULLIGAN/LAURENS:]**

_**And when our children tell our story...** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**They'll tell the story of tonight** _

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Let's have another round tonight!** _

**[LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Let's have another round tonight!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Let's have another round tonight!** _

"How much did you all drink that night?" Angelica questioned them.

None of the men answered her.

Most of them couldn't remember.

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Raise a glass to freedom;** _  
_**Something they can never take away,** _  
_**No matter what they tell you.** _  
_**Raise a glass to the four of us...** _

_They didn't take away your freedom._

Hamilton thought with a painful constriction in his chest. _Just your life._

**[LAURENS/MULLIGAN:]**

_**Tomorrow there'll be more of us.** _

**[MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/LAURENS:]**

_**Telling the story of tonight...** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**They'll tell the story of tonight.** _  
  


"Do they? Tell our stories?" Lafayette questioned curiously. 

It took the twins a moment to realize he was addressing them, as they were listening intently to the lyrics, even swaying along with the song. "What?"

"Well, there's a lot more history to learn now than there was for you back then, but yeah, most elementary schools do have at least the fundamentals of the Revolutionary War covered under the curriculum. There's also histories and researchers dedicated to uncovering more about the founding of our country." He explained, and then turned to Washington, "Like the Mount Vernon Ladies Association, for example." 

"Pardon?" He asked, politely, not quite sure what they were saying.

Talia jumped in then, "Your estate, Mount Vernon? It stayed in your family for another three generations. It was inherited by John Augustine Washington III who would have been your, hold on," she counted for a moment on her fingers, "Great-great nephew, I think. But because it was so big, he couldn't afford to maintain it and it started falling into disrepair. He adamantly _refused_ to sell it to commercial developers because they would have just torn it down for the prime real estate it was on, and the government wouldn't buy it because they thought it would be an improper use on citizens' tax dollars." She explained, with some of them nodding in agreement; as important as preserving history was, that wouldn't have gone over well. "A letter from her mother prompted Ann Pamela Cunningham, an activist, to publish a piece imploring the women of America to help gather enough money to save it. John agreed to sell it to them and they'd owned it ever since 1858, carefully restoring it, collecting artifacts and keeping it maintained through public donation and offering tours and such. They're very dedicated - a few years back they even paid $9.8 million dollars for your personal copy of the United States Constitution." 

_"Excuse me?!"_

Alexander couldn't help but laugh at the horrified look on George's face. He'd seemed fine - perhaps even _touched_ \- by what had been done in the effort of protecting his home, until he realized how much money was spent on trying to preserve his legacy, something he'd stopped caring about a long time ago. He knew the man despised how much he was put on a pedestal; to know people were still doing it more than two centuries later would no doubt have him feeling a bit indignant. 

Hearing his son laugh for the first time in ages helped quell the man's annoyance, so he simply pinched the bridge of his nose and sat back. 

Nine million dollars. 

_Jesus Christ_. 

**[LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Raise a glass to freedom.** _  
_**Something they can never take away...** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**No matter what they tell you** _

**[MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Let's have another round tonight** _

**[LAURENS:]**

_**Raise a glass to the four of us** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET:]**

_**Tomorrow there'll be more of us...** _

**[HAMILTON/LAURENS:]**

_**Telling the story of tonight** _

**[MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**Let's have another round tonight** _

**[HAMILTON/LAURENS/ENSEMBLE & MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE/ENSEMBLE:] **

_**They'll tell the story of tonight** _  
_**(Raise a glass to freedom)** _  
_**They'll tell the story of tonight** _  
_**(Raise a glass to freedom)** _  
_**They'll tell the story of tonight** _  
_**They'll tell the story of—** _

**[FULL ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Tonight** _

Talia stopped the musical and turned the TV off before standing up for a much needed stretch, while everyone else followed suit.

"Alright, so what does everyone want for dinner?"

Most of them looked at each other and shrugged; the ones who had gone to war had, for the most part, stopped being picky about food a long time ago. They'd had a pretty tight budget and survived on whatever meals they could get their hands on. Plus, they didn't really know what kind of food was available in the 21st Century; what if they ate really weird and disgusting things?

Seeing no one offer any particular suggestions, Noah rolled his eyes and started to pull out his cellphone, "Okay, so, pizza it is."

"What's pizza?" 

Not really in the mood to explain what it was in that moment, took her brother's phone, "We can do that tomorrow, don't be lazy, we have guests, we can at least cook for them!"

Her brother flipped her off, "Ugly bitch." 

"Faggot."

The Revolutionaries looked at each other in confusion and concern, "Why are you insulting each other?" 

"We do it out of love, its a sibling thing." Talia explained, and John and Angelica grinned in agreement. 

Eliza frowned, "Okay, but what was that word you called him?"

"You mean faggot?" Noah asked for clarity, and she nodded. "Oh, it's an insulting term for gay, but I don't mind when my friends call me that so it's cool."

Hercules scratched his head, "Okay, but... why is being _happy_ an insult?" he asked.

"What the fuck are you—" The teenage boy suddenly smacked his palm against his forehead. "Sorry, man, English wasn't ever my favorite subject in school, so I don't really know the origins of a lot of these words. Gay means, uh, homosexual?"

Burr's eyebrows furrowed, easily recognizing what sounded like Latin in the beginning of that unfamiliar word, " _Man..._ sexual?" he asked, uncertainly. 

"No, I think it's from the Greek word, _homos_." Alexander chimed in, also trying to piece it together, "That means _same_. Same... sex?"

Seeing the continued blank stares on the others faces as the multilingual individuals kept trying to piece what he was saying together, Noah wracked his brain for a better explanation. "It means I'm not interested in women, I'm exclusively sexually attracted to other males." He finally said, and several of their guests stared at him, stunned by his words. 

"Wait, you're saying you're a _sodomite?!_ You shouldn't be talking about that!" John blurted without thinking; immediately jumping to the worst conclusion at realizing that a young boy had just openly confessed to committing a crime in a room full of people.

Talia interjected, seeing as how her brother just looked lost, "We don't use that term anymore. For one, it was an extremely confusing term to begin with, and most of society want the Bible to stay the hell out of their sex lives anyways since it's nobody else's business but the people involved. If I remember correctly 'sodomy' was the term for anyone who had any other kind of sexual intercourse other than the married, religiously acceptable kind where a penis goes into a vagina, with the intent to procreate, correct?" She checked, and the adults in the room all looked extremely uncomfortable with hearing a young woman talking about this, but Alexander eventually nodded. 

"Right, so that's the issue. Because while it _could_ refer to sex acts performed between two men, it could also refer to any 'unusual' or non-conventional sex act between a straight couple." Mulligan opened his mouth, "Straight means a woman and a man, Hercules." He closed his mouth again. "So, basically, as we transitioned from the late 19th century to the early 20th century, more terms were coined to describe non-married, non-straight couples as religious figures and doctors tried to figure out whether being gay was some sort of sinful abomination," John flinched, "A mental disease, demonic possession, or a lack of moral control. We can mostly thank the men and women who fought relentlessly for the right of consenting adults to have sex with whomever they want and not be oppressed for it. Right now except in the most backwards countries, it's pretty much well understood that sexuality is _not_ a choice, nor is it malleable. You can't force someone only attracted to men to love women, or vice versa. Just like you can't force a heterosexual man to be sexually attracted to other men." 

Angelica looked intrigued, she was a woman who loved knowledge and hoped for progressive change in the future, so it was all very interesting to her, "And people are... okay with this?" 

"Not _everywhere_. Even in America there's still people who have their issues with it, but for the most part, it's no longer considered a weird, sick, evil thing to love the same sex. Now days anyone who takes issue with it is either an ultra militantly religious nutjob or a jackass." 

Speaking up, Alexander had to ask, "You mentioned there were terms to describe these people now?"

"Yes!" Noah answered cheerfully. "So it gets complicated the more you dig into it, and a lot of terms for sexual preferences are conflated as being separate orientations these days, but the most widely known and accepted terms are: Gay, for homosexual men, Lesbian, for women who only have sex with other women, Bisexual, for people who are attracted to both, and Asexual, for people who experience no sexual attraction to other people. There's also Transgender, which while not related to sexual orientation, is a relatively new-ish term for what you would know as people who were born male or female, choosing to identify, dress as and take on names of the opposite sex, to relieve mental distress or discomfort with the gender norms and sex characteristics of their birth gender. In addition to gay men, cross-dressing men would have been heard about in places called 'molly houses' around your time, I believe." He said, and grinned at the dawning realization on the others' faces. 

He might not have been an aspiring history major like his sister was, but he had paid attention in school, and had done his own research into gender and sexuality shortly before he came out.

John and Alexander were looking at each other, wide-eyed, but if anyone noticed they didn't point it out. 

"So, being a sod—I mean, being gay, isn't considered a crime here anymore?" The younger Alex asked, cautiously. 

"Nope," Talia replied, popping the word on the 'p', "In fact, not only are they a protected class - meaning it's a crime to discriminate or abuse them because of their identities - you can now legally get married to your same sex partner in all 50 states, as well as have your out-of-country marriage recognize within our borders, as of 2015!"

"Wait, _marriage?"_

 _"Fifty_ states?!"

Everyone suddenly was talking at once, and so loudly her ears were hurting. 

"I'm going to go make food, enjoy answering their questions!" Talia smirked at her brother, and he groaned as she turned and went to the kitchen. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the short chapter; I was going to include them chatting while they eat but figured I could save that for the start of the next chapter before they return to the musical! Plus I haven't updated in a while and I couldn't think of a way to make this chapter any longer even though I wanted it to be!
> 
> P.S. The twins eluded to other orientations besides the classic 5 but because the community is so huge and confusing (I still don't know what the difference between Bi and Pan is and I am a Bisexual person lol) and no one can really agree on which of the later additions to the "acronym" are "valid" or not and it probably would have only confused the gang even more so they just stuck with the basics, rather then trying to explain Demisexual or Non-Binary to a bunch of 18th century folks.


	6. The Schuyler Sisters

"Hey, kid, slow down, nobody's gonna take it from you!" Noah laughed at the sight of the younger Alex practically wolfing down his food; which, to be fair, he didn't know the last time he'd eaten, but if he kept that up he was going to choke. 

The boy turned red and mumbled an apology under his breath, slowing down enough to actually chew.

As he ate his food, the modern boy couldn't help but take a moment to look around at the actual, Revolutionary era historical figures who were all sitting together in their theater room, eating food that his sister cooked, and just having a good time. It was bonkers. He hadn't thought anything was this crazy since the first time they had discovered their powers...

Interrupting the silence, it was Washington that offered a new line of conversation after a few minutes of silence, "You're a lovely cook, Miss Talia, do you mind telling me what this is again?" He asked, glancing down at the layered dish of pasta, cheese, meat and vegetables. 

The brunette girl smiled at the compliment, "Thank you! It's called Lasagna, and I believe it's been around since the 14th century, but it wasn't as widely known back then." She had already become accustomed to explaining the origins of things now, if only because she enjoyed seeing the interest on the Revolutionaries faces whenever she taught them something. "It's my favourite dish, actually. Our mother was from the southern region of Italy."

"Was?" Hercules asked around a mouthful of food, prompting Lafayette to elbow him.

At that, her smile turned a bit sad as she met his gaze, then her brother's, "She died when we were eight years old—caught a bad case of Yellow Fever from a vacation we took to Brazil." 

Hamilton's fork made a loud clattering sound as it hit his plate, and everyone looked up to find him staring at her, his expression caught somewhere between shocked and... _hurt_. She looked to the younger version and saw that his expression was that of someone trying not to burst into tears.

That was when Talia remembered his mother had also died of a viral illness... speculated by historians to have been that exact disease, in fact, due to the climate of the Caribbean islands. Actually, if she thought about it, she was fairly certain she had read something about him getting Yellow Fever for a _second time_ out in Philadelphia. So, probably a sore subject, 

Well, shit.

'Sorry,' she told them telepathically, and the older version's head jerked up, startled, before he simply nodded. 

Angelica tried to offer a change of subject, "What about your father? Does he know about your abilities?" 

Instead of lightening the atmosphere, the girl's green eyes turned as dark and gloomy as a thunderstorm, "He's dead, too." The others looked stunned and saddened by her words. "He was killed in a car crash when we were twelve..." she trailed off.

Seeing as how his sister was quickly withdrawing into her own head, Noah offered his own (lackluster) explanation, "A car is basically the future version of a carriage. Except they don't need horses to run; it's a long story. But yes, our father did know we had powers." _It's the reason why he died_ , he added in his head.

Considering everyone had more or less finished their food at this point, he slid off the arm of the couch he'd been sitting on and went to hit 'play' on the television again, "This is a fun number, it's the first proper introduction of you two," he said to the two present Schuylers. "Plus your younger sister, Margarita." 

**[BURR:]**

_**There's nothin' rich folks love more,** _   
_**Than going downtown and slummin' it with the poor** _   
_**They pull up in their carriages and gawk** _   
_**At the students in the common just to watch them talk!** _

_**Take Philip Schuyler; the man is loaded** _   
_**Uh-oh, but little does he know that his daughters,** _   
_**Peggy, Angelica, Eliza** _   
_**Sneak into the city just to watch all the guys at—** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Work, work!** _

"Nice moves, Burr!" Hercules cheered at the man as his actor pranced across the stage, prompting another embarrassed groan from him. 

Angelica, meanwhile, looked scornful, "We did _not_ go into the city just to watch 'guys'!"

"We kind of did, Angie." Eliza murmured with a giggle.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**Angelica!** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Work, work!** _   
  
**[ELIZA:]**

_**Eliza!** _

**[PEGGY:]**

_**And Peggy!** _

Alexander smiled at the introduction of his three favorite women in the world. 

That reminded him; he needed to write to Peggy when he got home, having received a letter from earlier that day, a correspondence they had kept up regularly since the early eighties, becoming close following his marriage to her sister. She was just as adorably bubbly as Eliza was, though more subtle in her charms. If he had ever been given a little sister, he would have wanted one like her.

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Work, work!** _   
_**The Schuyler sisters!** _

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**Angelica!** _   
  
**[PEGGY:]**

_**Peggy!** _   
  
**[ELIZA:]**

_**Eliza!** _   
  
**[COMPANY:]**

_**Work!** _

**[PEGGY:]**

_**Daddy said to be home by sundown!** _

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**Daddy doesn't need to know.** _

**[PEGGY:]**

_**Daddy said not to go downtown...** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**Like I said, you're free to go!** _

"Oooh, rebellious. I like it." John laughed as the two women rankled their younger sister on stage, causing her to cross her arms and follow after them with a pout, reluctantly joining in on the singing.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**But—look around, look around,** _   
_**The Revolution's happening in New York!** _   
  
**[ELIZA & PEGGY:]**

_**New York~** _   
  
**[COMPANY:]**

_**Angelica!** _   
  
**[SCHUYLER SISTERS & COMPANY:]**

_**Work!** _

**[PEGGY:]**

_**It's bad enough daddy wants to go to war...** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**—People shouting in the square!** _

"Shouting in the square?" Hercules mused, "It's probably Hammy."

"Hey!" 

**[PEGGY:]**

_**It's bad enough there'll be violence on our shore!** _

Washington couldn't help but grimace at the reminder; war was ugly and messy and, unfortunately, the civilians tended to get caught in the middle. He could distinctly recall the frightened expressions on various villagers' faces whenever they saw troops pass through, even if nothing was happening at the moment. The knowledge of how bloody things could get, and quickly, was enough to put most people on edge.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**New ideas in the air!** _

Talia chuckled softly; Democracy was hardly a new idea, nor one that could be credited to the Americans. But, she supposed it was new to them, since they'd never known anything else. Plus when most people thought of successful rebellions of the late modern history, the Revolutionary War was usually one of the first ones mentioned.

**[ANGELICA & MALE ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Look around, look around—** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**Angelica, remind me what we're looking for...** _   
  
**[ALL MEN:]**

_**She's lookin' for me!** _

The room collectively burst into laughter as the three women were suddenly surrounded by male ensemble members posturing and posing in front of them, clearly trying and failing to earn their attention.

**[ANGELICA & COMPANY:]**

_**Eliza, I'm lookin' for a mind at work! (Work, work)** _   
_**I'm lookin' for a mind at work! (Work, work)** _   
_**I'm lookin' for a mind at work! (Work, work)** _   
_**Whooaaaa!** _

**{ELIZA/ANGELICA/PEGGY & COMPANY:]**

_**Whoooa-oooaaaaa!** _   
_**Work!** _

"Damn," Mulligan whistled in approval, impressed by the vocals on the three women as they sang that last line together.

Alexander grinned when he noticed the actor in the purple return to the stage all of a sudden, "Oh, look, Burr, you're back! You're not here to flirt with my wife and sisters-in-law, are you?" he teased gently. 

Burr just chuckled nervously.

**[BURR:]**

_**Oooh! There's nothin' like summer in the city,** _   
_**Someone in a rush next to someone lookin' pretty!** _   
_**Excuse me, Miss, I know it's not funny,** _   
_**But your perfume smells like your daddy's got money.** _

The Revolutionaries gaped in disbelief as the music picked up and the women halted, Peggy and Eliza in particular giving the man the most _unimpressed_ looks they'd ever seen. 

"Oh, my God."

Burr held up his hands defensively, his face turning a vivid shade of pink, "I _never_ said that!"

"You may as well have, we knew what you meant."

_**Why you slummin' in the city in your fancy heels?** _   
_**You searchin' for an urchin who can give you ideals?** _

"Jesus, Burr, just quit while you're behind. She'd eat you alive." Laurens laughed while Angelica looked strangely proud at that description of her.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**Burr, you disgust me.** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Ah, so you've discussed me!** _   
_**I'm a trust fund, baby, you can trust me!** _

"It got worse!" Alexander cried out gleefully, while the others who knew the sisters, particularly Angelica, were giving Burr a mix of looks that ranged from _'You never stood a chance, friend'_ and _'My God, he is going to die.'_

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**I've been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine,** _   
_**So men say that I'm intense or I'm insane** _   
_**You want a revolution? I want a revelation!** _   
_**So listen to my declaration:** _

"This should be good." Lafayette was barely suppressing his own grin as Peggy and Eliza suddenly posed behind Angelica and nodded their heads along with the beat.

**[ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY:]**

_**"We hold these truths to be self-evident,** _   
_**That all men are created equal."** _

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**And when I meet Thomas Jefferson—** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Unh!** _

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**—I'mma compel him to include women in the sequel!** _

Hamilton scoffed, and gave Angelica an apologetic look when she narrowed her eyes at him, "Sorry, dear Angelica. I know you two are close, but given his history I highly doubt anyone, no matter how convincing, would ever be capable of removing Jefferson's head from his anus." He said bluntly, grimacing as his thoughts went to a certain scandals involving the man. He had to admit, though, ever since Jefferson and Madison had taken a trip to Mount Vernon due to Thomas' reoccurring migraines, he'd been far less irritating, even pleasant on occasion.

He still wouldn't trust the man as far as he could throw him, but it was a nice change. 

**[WOMEN:]**

_**Work!** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**Look around, look around,** _   
_**At how lucky we are to be alive right now!** _

**[ELIZA/PEGGY:]**

_**Look around, look around,** _   
_**At how lucky we are to be alive right now!** _

**[ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY:]**

_**History is happening in Manhattan, and we just happen to be,** _   
_**In the greatest city in the world!** _

_"What?"_

Talia grinned at the incredulous expressions on the Revolutionaries faces, "It's a self-admitted bias. From a modern viewpoint, New York City _is_ considered one of the greatest in the world, _especially_ if you grew up there. But, you're right, it wasn't as nearly as amazing as places like Paris or London, at least not back then. These days it's incredible though, and I think it ranks like, the eighth most visited city in the world. It's also a huge melting pot of different cultures and experiences." she said proudly. 

"Are you from New York?" Eliza asked curiously. 

Noah smiled, "Something like that." 

**[SCHUYLER SISTERS & COMPANY:] **

_**In the greatest city in the world!** _   
  
**[ANGELICA, ELIZA/PEGGY & MEN:]**

_**'Cause I've been reading Common Sense by Thomas Paine,** _

_**Look around, look around!** _   
_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!** _

_**So men say that I'm intense or I'm insane!** _

_**The Revolution's happening in—** _

_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!** _

"What is happening?" Lafayette whispered to Hercules, wide-eyed at the sudden well-rehearsed overlapping of the cast's voices created a bizarre but extremely impressive effect.

**[ANGELICA, ELIZA/PEGGY & WOMEN:]**

_**You want a revolution? I want a revelation!** _

_**—New York!** _   
_**Look around, look around, the revolution's happening in New York!** _

_**So listen to my declaration:** _

**[ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY, FEMALE ENSEMBLE & WOMEN:]**

_**"We hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal."** _

_**Look around, look around—** _   
_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!** _

_**Whooooa!** _

_**—At how lucky we are to be alive right now!** _   
_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!** _

Admittedly, when the sisters were suddenly holding hands, dancing and singing in sync on stage surrounded by the ensemble, it was difficult not to get drawn in and want to sing along; it was just so uplifting, so high-energy compared to the quiet, tranquil hope of the last song.

Unsurprisingly, Angelica was particularly impressed by her actress's vocal talents and her commanding stage presence. If she were a performer, that was exactly the type she would have wanted to be. Brilliant, beautiful, with a strong voice that drew center focus and radiated power with every note. It was clear the people in this play had worked hard on their roles and deserved every bit of praise they got for it.

**[FULL COMPANY:]**

_**Look around, look around, at how lucky we are to be alive right now!** _   
_**History is happening in Manhattan and we just happen to be—** _

**[ALL WOMEN:]**

_**In the greatest city in the world!** _

**[ALL MEN:]**

_**In the greatest city—** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**In the greatest city in the world!** _

**[COMPANY & ANGELICA:]**

_**Work, work!** _   
_**Angelica!** _

**[COMPANY, ELIZA/PEGGY:]**

_**Work, work! Eliza!** _   
_**And Peggy!** _

**[COMPANY & ANGELICA/ELIZA/PEGGY:]**

_**Work, work!** _   
_**The Schuyler sisters!** _   
_**Work, work!** _   
_**We're lookin' for a mind at work!** _   
_**Work, work! (Hey)** _   
_**Work, work! (Hey)** _   
_**Work, work!** _

_**Work, work!** _   
_**Whoa!** _   
_**Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!** _   
_**Work, work!** _   
_**In the greatest city in the world!** _   
_**In the greatest city in the world!** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**In the greatest city in the world!** _

"Wow, that was a lot." 

Eliza smiled brightly, "I thought they were wonderful! Too bad Peggy isn't here, I'm sure she would have loved it." 

Talia and Noah exchanged a quick glance, secretly glad they hadn't brought her. Neither of them agreed with the way she'd kind of just been forgotten halfway through the first act, but they understood why... and if she started questioning it they would have had to tell her that she died in 1801, which would only cause more upset than there already was.

"Alright! If anyone needs a bathroom break, now would be the time, because in the next performance we're going to watch Hamilton tear apart an innocent farmer." Noah laughed, and Burr's eyes widened in realization. _Oh no._


	7. Farmer Refuted/You'll Be Back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talia informs the group that yes, Hamilton was in fact ALWAYS a writing maniac, and they have some much needed comedic relief in the form of a parody of King George III.

"How about we listen to the next two performances before we take a break?" Talia suggested, seeing that the Revolutionaries were beginning to rub their heads every so often; after going their entire lives without any sort of modern technology, it made sense that staring at a screen for so long would cause them some sort of headache. "It really starts heating up after that so we can just relax for a bit, maybe answer each other's questions and what not, before continuing?" 

Evidently noticing the issue as well, Washington nodded, "I think that would be a wise course of action, Miss Talia." He addressed her, since she had yet to provide them with her family name. 

When no one seemed to protest that, she settled back down and continued the musical. 

**[SAMUEL SEABURY:]**

_**Hear ye, hear ye!** _  
_**My name is Samuel Seabury, and I present:** _  
_**"Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress"** _

Alexander was already scowling; both versions of them were, actually. 

"Okay, quick background." Talia spoke up for those looking confused, "Historically, this didn't actually happen exactly like this. Samuel Seabury was a farmer and the first American Episcopal bishop, as well as the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalist to the crown during the Revolution, you may or may not have heard of him, and the presentation he's about to give is quoting his pamphlet that he released in 1774 under the alias “A. W. Farmer”; he and Hamilton infamously duked it out anonymously while he was in college." She explained, before looking at Hamilton, "How old were you again?" 

It took him a second to remember; his own fault, really, for giving so many fake birth dates over the years, "In '74? Seventeen." 

"Right. So here's where it gets awesome," she was bouncing a little in her seat, "In the song you two start to overlap each other and I don't know if Lin-Manuel Miranda did it on purpose, but in reality, Seabury was already writing a second piece to his first pamphlet when Hamilton released "A Full Vindication of the Measures of Congress." Which means he had to write a postscript in response to that before his publication of his pamphlet, entitled "The Congress Convassed." Less than a week later, Hamilton had already responded in the New York Gazetteer with his piece called "A Card." You literally flipped him off in written form." 

The teenage girl looked positively giddy, while his friends (minus Hercules, who had known about what he was writing) looked a cross between surprised and amused. It was just so _Hamilton_.

John laughed, "How did you even have time to _study?_ "

"It gets better!" the girl gushed, while Alexander was starting to look a little bit embarrassed; he _had_ been rather overzealous in his youth. "Seabury then published "A View of the Controversy Between Great-Britain and her Colonies", and Hamilton responded with "The Farmer Refuted" which is what this song is named after. This isn't even including the stuff you wrote in 1775 and 76, like "Remarks on the Quebec Bill" in Rivington's New York Gazetteer or the _fourteen pieces_ titled "The Monitor" in the New York Journal. Seriously, how much _money_ did you spend on ink and parchment while in college anyways?"

Hamilton averted his gaze with a laugh, "I, uh, tried very hard not to consider it, Ma'am." 

Talia just patted him on the arm, "Hey, I'm not judging. I once blew eighty dollars on a HUGE leather bound journal I bought during the summer with my paper route money and filled it with my shitty poetry in less than two months. It be like that sometimes."

Meanwhile, Eliza was frowning at how much the strange girl seemed to know about her husband... fiancé, whatever! She was being so _friendly_ with him when they had only just met.

_**Heed not the rabble who scream "Revolution!"** _  
_**They have not your interests at heart!** _

Laurens scoffed, "And what, we're supposed to believe that the King _does?_ "

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Oh my God, tear this dude apart.** _

"I did encourage you a lot, didn't I?" Hercules chuckled.

Lafayette visibly brightened when he saw his actor get close to Alexander's, seemingly encouraging him to confront the bishop on his little soapbox. He had hoped his friendship with the others' was showcased in this musical; sometimes he secretly worried he would be overlooked due to the fact he was French and hadn't had any military experience before coming to the Colonies.

**[SEABURY:]**

_**Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution,** _  
_**Don't let them lead you a stray** _  
_**This Congress does not speak for me!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Let him be.** _

"No! Don't stop him!" Laurens and Lafayette booed, and Burr just rolled his eyes; they did realize this wasn't real in the first place, and that the screen couldn't hear them, right?

Hamilton's actor backed off at first, but Mulligan's and the Marquis' were exchanging glances behind the man's back, and Washington sat up a little as they seemed to silently communicate something with one another. Even in a fictional portrayal of them, he could tell when his sons were up to no good; and he had a feeling that Burr wasn't going to win this attempt to keep the peace. 

Sure enough, Lafayette suddenly pulled Burr's actor to the side to speak with him, while Hercules put a hand on Alexander's shoulder, saying something quietly and prodding him in the direction of Seabury; meanwhile Laurens was talking to ensemble members, looking as though he was encouraging them to speak up, or perhaps just offering his opinion on the Revolution.

**[SEABURY:]**

_**They're playing a dangerous game** _  
_**I pray the King shows you his mercy.** _  
_**For shame, for shaaaaame...** _  
_**Heed not the—** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Yo!** _  
_**He'd have you all unravel at the sound of screams!** _

"Wooooo! Go Alexander!"

**[SEABURY *OVERLAPPING*:]**

_**—Rabble who scream "Revolution!"** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**But the Revolution is comin', the have-nots are gonna win this!** _

"Fuck yeah we are!" Mulligan cheered, and then yelped when a pillow hit him in the back of the head. 

Eliza leaned forward and scolded, "There are children and your Commander in Chief present, try to speak appropriately!"

Washington decided not to tell her that they had all said much worse both on and off the battlefield, regardless of who was present. He didn't wish to offend her.

**[SEABURY:]**

_**They have not your interests at heart!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**It's hard to listen to you with a straight face.** _

Everyone laughed when, in a futile effort to shut Hamilton up, Seabury moved his box in front of the man and stepped back on before continuing his preaching; the Aide de Camp was not so easily silenced. 

**[HAMILTON & (SEABURY):] **

_**(Chaos and bloodshed are not a solution!** _  
_**Don't let them lead you astray!)** _

_**Chaos and bloodshed ALREADY haunt us!** _  
_**Honestly you shouldn't even talk—** _

George nodded in approval as Alexander spoke up to point out that the war was already well under way, and that bloodshed had been upon them for quite a while; the Boston Massacre being the first immediate thought to come to mind. Honestly, some things just couldn't be resolved peacefully, no matter how much you wished it were so. 

" _Don't touch him_." Angelica hissed under her breath, her eyes flashing dangerously as the bishop's actor shoved Alexander out of the way when the other man walked in front of his little platform. 

**_And what about BOSTON?_ **  
**_Look at the cost, 'n all that we've lost!_ **  
**_And you talk about CONGRESS?!_ **

_**(This Congress does not speak for me!)**_

_**My dog speaks more eloquently than thee!** _

**_(They're playing a dangerous game!)_ **

_**But strangely your mange is the same!** _

_**(I pray the King shows you his mercy!)**_

Several of the men, plus Angelica and Eliza, _glared_ at the screen when Seabury drew his hand across his throat in a threatening manner while directing that line at Hamilton.

While it was truly just a musical, they cared deeply about Alexander and most of them couldn't bear the thought of something happening to him. He didn't like being coddled but they all knew his health wasn't the best - and it seemed like the future version of him was just as bad at caring for himself if the shadows under his eyes were anything to go by - and had become quite protective of him, especially after all the crap he'd been put through.

_**Is he in Jersey?** _

"OHHHHH!" The Revolutionaries, minus George, shouted in response, laughing almost as much as their on-screen counterparts were as Hamilton summarily dismantled Seabury's entire argument with just a handful of words. 

Lafayette, Hercules, John and Alexander were all close together on stage, just like they were all sitting together currently. 

Part of Aaron wanted to go join them, but he refrained, keeping his arms crossed and his eyes on the screen.

_**(For shame!)** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**For the Revolution!** _

The whole room cheered and so did some of the ensemble members on stage, and Washington couldn't help feeling a stab of pride.

Even centuries later, people still supported the choices they'd made that were, at the time, very difficult. It made it easier knowing all the fighting and bloodshed and pain and _guilt_ would be considered worth it even in the 21st century. It was good to know. At the time, he was certain they were making the right choice, but to have irrefutable proof to his conscience that it was true took a tremendous weight off of his shoulders.

**[SEABURY:]**

_**For shame!** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**For the REVOLUTION!** _  
  
**[SEABURY:]**

_**Heed—** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**If you repeat yourself again I’m gonna—** _  
  
**[SEABURY & HAMILTON]**

_**Scream—** _  
  
**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Honestly, look at me, please don’t read!** _

Alexander then promptly jumped up on the box next to Seabury and attempted to get him to stop reading his pamphlet; it was clear he honestly wanted a fair debate rather than just a screaming match.

Unfortunately, some people couldn't be convinced.

**[SEABURY:]**

_**Not your interests—** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Don't modulate the key then not debate with me!** _  
_**Why should a tiny island across the sea regulate the price of tea?!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Alexander, please!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

**_Burr, I'd rather be divisive than indecisive,_ **  
_**Drop the niceties!** _

"Always have been, always will be." The younger Alexander said with fierce conviction, and the people who would know him in the future knew he completely meant it. 

Burr on the other hand, just sighed.

He wished Hamilton could see his side of things once in a while.

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Silence! A message from the King!** _  
_**A message from the King!** _

**[FULL COMPANY:]**

_**A message from the KINNNNNNG!** _

"Oh, _this_ should be good."

A regally dressed man who was both too young and too good looking to be King George walked slowly out onto the stage to the sound of roaring cheers, much to the confusion of those watching, "Why is the audience cheering?" 

"Because this song is hilarious and also the actor playing him is really hot and popular." Noah answered casually. "Don't worry, they're not cheering the King, everyone knows this song is actually making fun of him, and British royalty in general I think. Hamilton has a lot of moments where the actors practically encourage audience participation in some scenes so that might be part of it."

"I see."

**[KING GEORGE:]**

_**You say, the price of my love's not a price** _  
_**That you're willing to pay** _  
_**You cry, in your tea** _  
_**Which you hurl in the sea when you see me go by** _  
_**Why so sad?** _

"Mostly the lack of representation in Parliament and the threat of death if we so much as uttered a word against you looming over our heads." John answered in a snarky tone, and Hamilton patted his shoulder comfortingly. 

_**Remember we made an arragement when you went away,** _  
_**Now you're making me mad!** _  
_**Remember, despite our estrangement,** _  
_**I'm your man...** _

"He makes it sound like we were married." Hercules snorted.

Burr nodded, "I think that's the idea. If this was written by Americans, then clear this portrayal of the King was intended to mock him."

_**You'll be back, soon you'll see,** _  
_**You'll remember you belong to me** _  
_**You'll be back, time will tell,** _  
_**You'll remember that I served you well** _

_**Oceans rise, empires fall,** _  
_**We have seen each other through it all** _  
_**And when push, comes to shove,** _  
_**I will send a fully armed battalion to remind you of my love!** _

"What a man!" John and Mulligan cried in unison, falling all over each other and fanning themselves dramatically. 

_"Si romantique! Je suis enchantée!"_ The Marquis agreed in a shrill voice, and pawed at Hamilton while batting his eyelashes in an overtly flirtatious way, _"Emmenez-moi au lit, Votre Majesté!"_

Alexander choked on air at that, and covered his face as he began to break down into laughter; Washington was afraid to ask what the Marquis had said, _especially_ when his Aide responded to him, _"Seulement si je peux me regarder dans à moi le miroir pendant que nous faisons l'amour!"_ At that point, tears of mirth actually began to run down Lafayette's face as he leaned into his friend, struggling to breathe through his giggles.

Angelica was covering her mouth, evidently trying not to laugh as well, while Burr simply had his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking silently.

_**Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da!** _  
_**Da da dat dat da ya da!** _  
_**Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da!** _  
_**Da da dat dat da...** _

"Those aren't even words!" Hamilton exclaimed, wiping away the tears that had sprung into his eyes from laughing so hard. 

_**You say our love is draining and you can't go oooooooon!** _  
_**You'll be the one complaining when I am gooooooone...** _  
_**AND NO, DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!** _

Everybody jumped, startled by the sudden shout.

_**'Cause you're my favorite subject,** _  
_**My sweet, submissive subject,** _  
_**My loyal, royal subject,** _  
_**Forever, and ever and ever and ever and ever...** _

"Oh, good Lord." Alexander murmured under his breath, a sudden feeling of whiplash coming over him; what had once been hilarious now was incredibly creepy. The King sounded like someone who would follow an ex-lover home and threaten them into keeping quiet about it. He had the inexplicable urge to make sure the door was locked in case the man unexpectedly showed up.

The others simply stared at the screen with varying shades of disbelief or disgust.

_**You'll be back, like before** _  
_**I will fight the fight and win the war** _  
_**For your love, for your praise,** _  
_**And I'll love you 'til my dying days** _  
_**When you're gone, I'll go mad!** _  
_**So don't throw away this thing we had** _  
_**'Cause when push comes to shove** _  
_**I will kill your friends and family to remind you of my love** _

"Hah!" The younger Alexander laughed, drawing attention from most of the occupants of the room, "The joke is on you, you conceited son of a bitch, you can't kill people who are already dead." 

George was torn between wanting to hug the boy and feeling the need to scold him for his language, but he resisted the urge to do either, reminding himself that this version of his son had never met him and, knowing Hamilton, would not appreciate any of it from someone he knew let alone a complete stranger.

_**Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da,  
Da da dat dat da ya da!   
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da,   
Da da dat—  
Everybody! ** _

**[FULL ENSEMBLE:]**

**_Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da,_  
Da da dat dat da ya da!   
Da da da dat da dat da da da da ya da da da da,   
Dat dat da ya da!**

"Well, that was... something." Eliza broke the sudden silence that had fallen over them when the performance ended. 

Almost everyone looked disturbed, with the notable exception of Hercules, who just seemed terribly amused by the whole thing, and the twins who were grinning ear to ear.

"Right! Well, time for a break!" Talia exclaimed happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French - English Translation: 
> 
> (Lafayette)  
> Si romantique! Je suis enchantée! - So romantic! I am enchanted!  
> Emmenez-moi au lit, Votre Majesté! - Take me to bed, Your Majesty!
> 
> (Hamilton)  
> Seulement si je peux me regarder dans à moi le miroir pendant que nous faisons l'amour! - Only if I can look at myself in the mirror while we make love!


	8. Right Hand Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The song everyone gets super pumped for, let's face it.
> 
> Until they don't, that is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Predictably, this chapter will include mentions of violence, PTSD, minor panic attacks, accidental self harm, discussions of mental illness, and more.

"Talia, hold on a second." Noah grabbed his sister's arm and Alexander watched, perplexed, as they seemed to do that "communicating without words" thing again. Then he remembered the teenage girl speaking in his head to him earlier when he'd gotten upset, and his eyes widened in realization. They were having a silent conversation! But why? Did they have something to hide? He had been getting mixed feelings about them, they seemed to have good intentions, but he knew without a doubt that they were hiding something. Maybe he should talk to the—

Before he could get George's attention, the twins had separated. 

"Okay, so I know we were going to take a break after the King's song, _buuuuut_ I think we should watch this next performance first." Noah told the Revolutionaries, and raised his hands up when they began to protest, mostly because they were getting stiff from sitting down. "Hold on, we have our reasons! See, this might be a little difficult to explain, but this next song might be... unintentionally upsetting to you."

The sound of young Alex muttering under his breath could be heard, "This whole play is upsetting."

Hercules raised his hand as though in school, "Do one of us die in it?" he asked, causing the group of people to tense up and exchange worried glances, Alexander and Burr in particular were ramrod straight now. 

"Well, _no..._ I mean... ugh, this is hard to describe because the concept of it wasn't nearly as well understood where you're from as it is now." Noah sighed, frustrated. 

Talia was messing around on her iPhone, "Okay, got it. So, you guys know about Nostalgia, right?" There were a few hesitant nods from some of the more veteran soldiers. "Okay, well, we now know that being nostalgic for something that happened more than thirty minutes ago _doesn't_ mean you're mentally fucked up or need to be thrown in the lunatic asylum." A few laughs and some offended sounds were the response. "What I mean is, we now understand that while being nostalgic can be a symptom of a mental disease, it usually isn't. However, our scientists and doctors, going over old medical files and history books from back then have realized that some of the symptoms of Nostalgia described go beyond the usual 'longing for the good old days' and veering dangerously into 'PTSD' territory." She said. 

The Revolutionaries looked at each other, confused. 

"PTSD...?" Angelica repeated, slowly. 

Glancing at her brother for support, Talia took a deep breath, "Before I tell you, I want you all to keep in mind that you came from an extremely limited, almost puritanical view of the world, okay? Don't be upset, it's not your fault, that's just how it was back then. I just want you to know that _nothing_ I'm about to say is indicative of your strength, piety, or character, understand?"

Washington could sense the uneasiness rolling off of his sons as they agreed, looking more and more concerned, while he simply inclined his head in agreement. 

"Okay, so, PTSD stands for _Post Traumatic Stress Disorder_. It's a mental, or psychological illness. Kind of like depression, or anxiety, which I explained to you earlier. You with me so far?" She checked before continuing on, "It's been called many names over the years; shell-shock, combat fatigue, operational exhaustion... the first recorded evidence of anything sounding similar to it goes as far back as writing in Ancient Greece. At it's very basic, PTSD is a condition that can develop as a result of a traumatic event," she told them, and while they still didn't get what _she_ was getting at, they seemed to be following her well enough; after all, they'd all seen the after-effects of trauma on people either personally or indirectly. "The traumatic event can be extremely severe or even relatively mild, but it's sometimes thought to be a result of our brains trying to cope with something terrible happening to us. Some examples of things known to cause it include witnessing an accident, experiencing a natural disaster," her gaze flickered from Hamilton to Washington to Burr, "Watching a loved one die, being abused as a child, being sexually assaulted or raped, and... well, experiencing active combat in a war zone." Everyone tensed up upon hearing that. "I'm warning you guys because I know how bad it can get, our dad was a veteran and..."

Noah could see his sister was starting to get upset, and took over, "What Talia is trying to say is that even though this disease didn't exist as an actual diagnosis in your guys' time, there's a good chance one or more of you might _have_ some form of PTSD. Some of the symptoms include disturbing or intrusive thoughts, attacks of disabling anxiety, reoccurring dreams related to the event, mental or physical distress to trauma related cues... in your case it would probably be the sound of gunshots and cannon-fire," he said, and he could see it starting to click, looks of confusion turning into ones of fear, realization, embarrassment and disbelief. "Hypervigilance is a common side effect, getting lost in your own thoughts for prolonged periods of time, sudden and seemingly unprovoked and often violent flashbacks of the trauma in question—"

"I think that's enough." Washington spoke suddenly, with authority, on behalf of his men, who were growing increasingly more tense with every word spoken, as each symptom listed struck a chord in one or more of them. "We appreciate this knowledge, we do... but we've been long aware of the risks involved with war." 

Talia let out a breath, "I'm not telling you this so you'll quit fighting when you go back." 

"Why, then?" 

Noah shook his head, this was getting too complicated. "So what you see next doesn't cause any more damage than it needs to. This musical has sound effects in it and some of them might set you off, but I want you to keep in mind that the danger is _not real_. They're just special effects, noises generated for being realistic to the audience, it's not real, and you're safe here, understand?" 

No one answered this time so he just sat down, thinking _'We tried.'_

Talia picked up the remote and hit 'play'.

Immediately, the cast began to flood the stage, a foreboding music playing as King George smugly sauntered off screen, and they began singing.

**[COMPANY:]**

_**British Admiral Howe's got troops on the water,** _  
_**Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor...** _

"Oh, great." Hamilton groaned. 

Washington felt his stomach plummet; so that's what they had been getting at. This musical wasn't going to just be limited to the occasional mention of the war, but actually including it in their performances as an active event. He was conflicted, on one hand he did want to see how it was portrayed, how they spoke of it centuries from the time it happened, and a part of him wanted to know if they would get to see the aftermath of the Revolution; their victory, if the twins words were to be believed. 

But on the other hand, if they had felt the need to explain the side effects of trauma to them, was watching this musical going to negatively effect his soldiers?

**[ENSEMBLE 1 ( & ENSEMBLE 2):]**

_**Thirty-two thousand troops in New York harbor** _  
_**(Thirty-two thousand troops in New York Harbor)** _  
_**When they surround our troops!** _  
_**(They surround our troops!)** _

_**They surround our troops!** _  
_**(They surround our troops!)** _  
_**When they surround our troops!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**As a kid in the Caribbean, I wished for a war,** _  
_**I knew that I was poor** _  
_**I knew it was the only way to—** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET & BURR:] **

_**Rise up!** _

"Alexander..." Eliza sighed sadly, and Hamilton refused to look at any of them and see the judgement, or worse, the pity on their faces.

He had done what he needed to, and he didn't regret it; if clawing his way to the top at the cost of his very own sanity was what it took to escape the plague of his illegitimate birth, it was a price he had long ago decided he was willing to pay. He was passed the point of hating himself for his own selfishness. Besides, the war had ended in their favor. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**If they tell my story,** _  
_**I am either gonna die on the battlefield in glory or—** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET & BURR:] **

_**Rise up!** _

_"Thank God he didn't."_ Washington thought, a lump forming in his throat as the unwelcome image of Alexander at Monmouth came back to him; he could still vividly recall the moment of sheer terror that had struck him when he'd gotten word that his Aide's horse had been _shot out_ from under him and he'd fallen off, exhausted from the blistering heat of the sun, and being badly injured in the process. He'd survived but had hit his shoulder and head hard enough to warrant taking him off the field for the remainder of the battle. The worst part of it, however, was having to take the word of others that he would be fine because he couldn't abandon his men in the middle of battle to go check on the boy.

He'd been stricken, however briefly, with the thought of _losing_ Alexander, for the umpteenth time in the few years they'd known each other, and it had made him all the more determined to keep his son safe. He couldn't lose another child, not after Patsy...

Meanwhile, Burr noticed that again his actor was helping Hamilton with his jacket in some way... he understood that the musical was going to probably end in him killing Alexander, it wasn't a difficult conclusion to jump to (it honestly surprised him that no one had called attention back to the fact that the same man who played Burr was the one that admitted to shooting Alexander in the introduction song), and he _sincerely_ hoped watching this would change the course of things, but that was one thing he still didn't understand... the way they were _framing_ his and Hamilton's actors, why? How did comparing them at every opportunity make things any better? Even taking into account the fact that this was a dramatized version of their fates, he couldn't quite figure out the message it was trying to get across. Yet.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I will fight for this land,** _  
_**But there's only one man** _  
_**Who can give us a command so we can—** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET & BURR:] **

_**Rise up!** _

John's eyes automatically shifted to look at his commander, who seemed lost in thought at the moment. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Understand? It's the only way to—** _

**[REVOLUTIONARY SET & BURR:] **

_**Rise up! Rise up!** _

Now _all_ of them were looking at Washington, who finally snapped out of it at the sound of the music swelling.

He felt their eyes on him, prompting a confused glance back in return, and refocused on the musical, just in time, apparently. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

**_Here he comes!_ **

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

"What?"

**[BURR:]**

_**Ladies and gentlemen!** _

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

Washington seemed to finally catch on to what was happening, because his back straightened and he was suddenly more sharply focused than before, understanding that he was about to make his first appearance, and resisting the urge to grimace at the screen. Was building up his arrival this much honestly necessary? Even in a fictional portrayal? He was just a man.

It was ridiculous.

**[BURR:]**

_**The moment you've been waiting for!** _

"Hell yeah we have!" Mulligan cheered, earning laughs and grins from his comrades. 

Washington's frown of disapproval quirked up slightly at his men's obvious enthusiasm, but resumed his cool indifference by the time anyone looked at him.

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**The pride of Mount Vernon!** _

Aaron groaned in embarrassment; why did they have to make _him_ the narrator?

He would never admit it in a million years, but George could feel his face heating up as well over the _completely unnecessary_ fuss being made over him. It was exactly what he didn't want; he was far from an elegant speaker or an emotionally open man, and being greeted by people en masse, especially when they all had such high expectations of him, had not gotten an ounce easier since he was selected as Commander in Chief.

If anything, it got worse; before they were strangers, now he was afraid of disappointing them.

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**GEORGE WASHINGTON!** _

Hamilton glanced at the man and nearly laughed at the _glare_ he was directing at the television, looking like he wanted to throw something at it. 

"Careful with that look on your face, Sir, or you'll cause it to fall off the wall in fright." He told him gleefully, all in jest of course, hoping to garner a smile from his leader and help relax him so he could enjoy his moment on the screen.

It worked.

**[WASHINGTON & ENSEMBLE:]**

_**We are outgunned!** _

_**(What?)** _

**_Out-manned!_ ** _****_

_**(What?)** _

_**Outnumbered, out-planned!** _

_**(Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)** _

_**We gotta make an all out stand,** _  
_**Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man!** _

_**(Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)** _

"What the f—" Hercules began only to cut himself off just in time as Eliza shot him a dirty look. "I mean, what is the ensemble even doing?"

"Ah, well because the musical needs a lot of unnamed and background characters, the ensemble play as various people as needed, such as King George's guards and various members of the Continental Army, as well as the chorus and delivery men." Noah explained, before realizing, "Oh! You mean the noises. That's a thing with modern music as well, usually rap and hip hop, which I already told you about. They're hyping Washington up. You'll see that a lot in this musical, especially the more fast paced songs. Basically it's their job to get the audience excited and really set the mood for something big happening."

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Check it—** _  
_**Can I be real a second?** _  
_**For just a millisecond?** _  
_**Let down my guard and tell the people how I feel a second?** _

Lafayette looked at the row of seats behind his and addressed George, "You can always tell us how you feel, _Mon Général_. We are a family after all, oui?" 

"Always." Laurens reiterated while Hercules nodded in agreement.

Washington looked to his side when a hand touched his arm, and he saw Alexander staring straight ahead at the screen, impassive, but his hand was on the older male's arm, and it sent a swell of warmth through his heart. How often had he needed to tell Hamilton and his friends that any of them could come talk to him if he needed somebody to listen? Alexander rarely took him up on that offer, but it appeared the gesture was reciprocated... by all of them. 

_**Now I'm the model of a modern Major General,** _  
_**The venerated Virginian veteran,** _  
_**Whose men are all lining up to put me on a pedestal** _  
_**Writin' letters to relatives,** _  
_**Embellishin' my elegance and eloquence** _

"More than is ever needed," George grumbled.

His men laughed, "Nonsense!"

_**But the elephant is in the room!** _  
_**The truth is in your face,** _  
_**When you hear the British cannons go—** _  
  
**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**BOOM!** _

Everyone froze as the sound of a cannon going off blared through the speakers surrounding them, instinctively looking around for the source. 

Washington in particular was ramrod straight while his men held their breath, and then his eyes met Talia's and he remembered what she said about special effects. The cannons weren't real. His company seemed to realize that after a few moments when nothing exploded, but they were still on edge now whereas previously they had been enjoying the song and their commander's irritation.

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Any hope of success is fleeting!** _  
_**How can I keep leading,** _  
_**When the people I'm leading keep retreating?** _

"Lee." Alexander hissed under his breath.

George looked at his son, startled. This Hamilton was older than the one from the time he was from, yet he still had a grudge against him? He'd never fully understood why his Aide had gone to that duel in the first place (though he had his suspicions it was to help defuse the situation if it got out of control, for Laurens' sake). Perhaps this musical would shed some light on it and he could better understand?

_**We put a stop to the bleedin' as the British take Brooklyn,** _  
_**Knight takes rook, but look—** _

**[WASHINGTON & ENSEMBLE:]**

_**We are outgunned!** _

_**(What?)** _

_**Out-manned!** _

_**(What?)** _

_**Outnumbered, out-planned!** _

_**(Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)** _

_**We gotta make an all out stand!** _  
_**Ayo, I'm gonna need a right-hand man!** _

_**(Buck, buck, buck, buck, buck!)** _

_**Incoming!** _

Every single soldier in the room jumped in their seats as another cannon fire boomed around them.

Lafayette took a deep breath and rubbed his temples as Washington and the ensemble scattered across the stage in panic at the imaginary threat. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**They're battering down the Battery,** _  
_**Check the damages!** _

**[MULLIGAN:]**

_**Rah!** _

Suddenly, Hercules and Alexander's actors reappeared on the stage, running together, causing Hamilton, Mulligan and the younger Alex to all sit up, clearly paying more attention now. "Is this—"

"When you and your unit volunteered for a suicide mission and the HMS Asia sent an entire barrage of Redcoats to try to shoot your ass?" Noah asked cheerfully as the other men stiffened at his choice of wording. "Yep! Also, can I just say how _cool_ that was? You guys are beasts."

George glanced warily at his Aide (former Aide? He couldn't be sure, Alexander had not provided any details on what he was doing in his future when he had been brought here), concerned. Logically he knew his son would be fine, but this had been before he'd ever met the young man, and he'd been told by Knox that Hamilton had been quite brave even then. Brave people were often the first to die, so one could forgive him for being apprehensive. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**We gotta stop 'em and rob 'em of their advantages!** _

**[MULLIGAN:]**

**_Rah!_ **

"Rah!" Hercules repeated his stage self, mockingly. "What even is that sound?"

Everyone looked at Noah, and he shrugged, "It just sounds cool!"

**[HAMILTON:]**

**Let's take a stand with the stamina God has granted us,**  
**Hamilton won't abandon ship!**  
**Yo - let's steal their cannons!**

"Alexander!" Eliza and John both groaned in exasperation before looking at each other funnily. "How the hell did you even survive to adulthood?"

"Spite?" Hamilton offered innocently. 

Talia laughed, "Oh, come on, guys, cut him some slack. Even history agrees that Alexander was _awesome_ that night. You all know what happened, right?" Most of them nodded, but a few people who had only heard third or fourth hand, such as Lafayette, Angelica, Eliza and Burr, shook their heads. 

"So, this was 1775, if I remember correctly." She began, and a couple of the Revolutionaries nodded in confirmation. "The British troops were overwhelmed in Manhattan so they withdrew to the HMS Asia, a 64-gun Royal Navy warship that was stationed in New York Harbor. Hamilton led a successful raid of the Battery for British cannons, which turned the Hearts of Oak into an artillery unit, which Hamilton taught _himself_ the necessary trigonometry in order to properly use the weapons. If that wasn't cool enough, not only did he _volunteer_ to steal 21 out of 24 cannons there along with Hercules," said man grinned at the surprised looks he received, "But they snuck into the British-occupied city, tied ropes to the cannons and hauled them off with a hundred other men, but when the Asia was tipped off to the intended raid and sent a force to attack them, they openly returned fire and even killed some of the Redcoats. This prompted the ship herself to maneuver in and began to fire 32-gun broadsides at them." 

Anyone who had heard the story, but not in quite as much detail as Talia had provided, was now staring at Mulligan and Hamilton with their mouths hanging open.

"That's not even the best part of what Alexander did!" Noah added in, and Burr couldn't help but note how enthusiastic they were, not just in general, but about _Hamilton_ specifically. Hmm... "The best part was told by Hercules." 

"Me?" Mulligan looked lost; to be fair, the events being described had occurred five years ago, and a lot had happened between then and now. 

Talia nodded and held up her iPhone, "Yeah. See, historians started collecting any and all written work, correspondence and paper by each and every one of you." She said, prompting some shocked and concerned glances, particularly from the handful among them that were uncomfortable with the idea of their private thoughts to loved ones being shared. "The majority of them are posted online where anyone can read them, or you can go look at them in museums. A lot of what we know about that time has been pieced together just from reading the descriptions your people wrote about certain events. One of these descriptions was from you, Mulligan, talking about what had happened that night. Mind if I read it?" 

"Yeah, go ahead." 

"It says 'I was engaged in hauling off one of the cannons, when Mister Hamilton came up and gave me his musket to hold and he took hold of the rope." and that after the cannon was safely dragged away, "I left his musket in the Battery and retreated. As he was returning, I met him and he asked for his piece. I told him where I had left it and he went for it, notwithstanding the firing continued, with as much concern as if the Asia had not been there." Like, everyone who knows about you gushes over your writing of course," Talia told Hamilton, much to his embarrassment and pride, while everyone except Hercules just sort of... stared at the man, including the younger version of himself.

"But, dude, you just calmly walked unarmed into a battle zone to retrieve your musket, as if you were fetching a book or wallet you'd accidentally left behind! That takes balls. I can see why like twenty different leaders wanted you to be their assistant." She told him.

"Twenty?" Angelica asked skeptically.

"A complete exaggeration," Hamilton mumbled, acting uncharacteristically flustered at having so much attention on him. Yes, he wanted his accomplishments recognized, but he never thought that would happen while sitting in a room with his closest friends and family members and even rivals while having them read to him. "It was only five; Lord Stirling, Alexander McDougall, Henry Knox, Nathanael Greene and the Pr-I mean the General." He said, unsure if the others had been told about the new form of government they had before he arrived, or whether Washington was aware he became their president. 

"Don't forget the offer the Baron von Steuben made you, mon amie." Lafayette chimed in, causing Laurens to stiffen.

Washington turned to look back at Alexander, somewhat sharply, "Pardon? What about the Baron?" 

Hamilton rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly, "While Laurens and I served as temporary Aides to von Steuben as he was training our forces, we got along quite well as I was his translator, we became close friends. After the end of the war, he became an American citizen due to an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, and remained here. The Baron was not very business savvy, and he made frequent suggestions that he could "use someone" like myself once things had settled, and eventually asked me if I would work for him." 

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence. 

"Okay," Noah cleared his throat, "But did he mean that as in, work for him like you did with Washington, or as in, you know... _work_ for him?" He made a crude gesture, just to really nail the point home in case they couldn't understand the implication of his tone. 

"Um..." Alexander's face had turned a soft shade of red, remembering his very forward friend who made no secret of the fact he was interested in him. "I, ah, do believe that the intention was both, actually." 

John bit at the inside of his cheek, remembering with clarity just how _fond_ of Alexander the Baron was. Despite being a good person, there had been a lot of talk of von Steuben's preferences for pretty, intelligent and rather young men who he took in as companions and apprentices. Even knowing Alexander would never leave them (leave _him_ ) to go work for the man, he still felt a knot in his gut anytime he thought of the moment he'd walked in on, Alexander bent over a candle and quill at his desk, translating the Baron's most recent orders from French to English for Washington, while the aristocrat stood behind him, hands on his shoulders and murmuring praises. 

Washington, meanwhile, simply took a deep breath in an effort to ignore his protective anger from showing. Alexander was a highly skilled, capable young man who, for all of his incredible self-taught knowledge, was still quite naive when he'd first joined his staff. There had been many an older, lecherous man in a position of power who had noticed his Aide's talents and good looks, and it was admittedly difficult _not_ to see them as a threat to his boy, no matter how capable he was. Hamilton had a target on his back the moment he started working for George, and not all of those who set eyes on him merely wanted to kill or torture him for information. Unfortunately, keeping the young man a secret was not possible, and any attempts to try just made it look like they had something to hide. 

Seeing the scandalized looks on the others' faces, Lafayette realized that Hamilton's friends had not been aware that the Baron had coveted him, and not solely for his abilities either. Whoops. Perhaps he should not have mentioned it, then. "Shall we continue with the musical, then?" he suggested. 

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea." Talia agreed quietly, and un-paused the show.

**[MULLIGAN & COMPANY:]**

_**SHH-BOOM! (BOOM!)** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Goes the cannon!** _  
_**Watch the blood and the shit spray and—** _

Everyone jumped in their seats, having forgotten in the midst of all the talking that this performance was particularly loud and accurate with the sound effects on stage. 

John pressed closer to Hercules while Alexander was gripping his armrests tightly. 

Washington had taken his eyes off the screen, drawing in a deep breath as he tried not to go back to that place, the one filled with his men falling from gruesome injuries, horrible piercing screams coming from medical tents, the ground shaking beneath his feet as the cannons were fired over and over again... the grass slick with rain and blood, glittering under the flashes of light as the war raged on around him...

**[COMPANY:]**

_**BOOM!** _  
  
**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Goes the cannon,** _  
_**We're abandonin' Kips Bay and—** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**BOOM!** _

Talia was keeping a close eye on everyone, but he could see that Lafayette and Hamilton were having trouble keeping themselves present.

She started to say something but her brother touched her hand, shaking his head, _Let's just get this over with, we can deal with the aftermath once the song is done._

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**There's another ship and—** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**BOOM!** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**We just lost the Southern tip and—** _  
  
**[COMPANY:]**

_**BOOM!** _

George's eyes snapped open when he heard a cry, and realized John had jumped and fallen out of his seat. 

The young man didn't bother to get back up, just pressed himself backwards against Lafayette's and Hercules' legs, feeling the latter grip his shoulder, prompting him to cling to the older male's hand for support. All of the soldiers were staring with wide eyes and pale faces at the screen, struggling not to lose themselves in their memories.

Burr's lips were pressed into a thin line, his hands trembling in his lap.

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**We gotta run to Harlem quick, we can't afford another slip!** _  
_**Guns and horses giddy up,** _  
_**I decided to divvy up my forces!** _

"Wow, I wonder how they made those realistic horse sounds..." Eliza mused quietly, her deep brown eyes kept flickering to her future husband, wanting to go to him but realizing how awkward it might be, given that he wasn't married to this version of her and had thus far attempted to keep distance between them.

Philip moved closer to his father and took his hand, silently.

_**They're skittish as the British cut the city up,** _  
_**This close to giving up!** _  
_**Facing mad scrutiny, I scream in the face of this mass mutiny!** _  
_**Are these the men with which I am to defend America?** _  
_**We ride at midnight, Manhattan in the distance,** _  
_**I cannot be everywhere at once, people!** _  
_**I'm in dire need of assistance...** _

The Revolutionaries were too shaken by the repeated cannon noises to even protest their on-stage Commander's words.

George, on the other hand, couldn't help but think that his men had more than proven themselves; and if things kept going back home the way they had been, they absolutely would win the war. He had misjudged them; their loyalty and determination was absolutely awe-inspiring.

"Everyone take a deep breath," Talia called out softly, "It'll be over soon, I promise."

**[BURR:]**

_**Your Excellency, Sir!** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Who are you?** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Aaron Burr, Sir?** _  
_**Permission to state my case?** _

Burr cocked his head to the side; he didn't remember this happening at all.

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**As you were.** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Sir, I was a Captain under General Montgomery,** _  
_**Until he caught a bullet in the neck in Quebec,** _  
_**And well, in summary:** _  
_**I think that I could be of some assistance** _  
_**I admire how you keep firing on the British from a distance.** _

Oh God, now he remembered. Aaron grimaced, he must have repressed the memory of him humiliating himself in front of the General.

"No offense, dude, but you're kind of terrible at sucking up to people." Noah teased lightly, attempting to add some humor to the situation. "I know you were just trying to help, but someone on the verge of a nervous breakdown from a war they're on the verge of losing doesn't really want to be told they're doing a good job. They want someone to tell them how they're fucking up and point them in a better direction." 

"I—" Burr started to argue until he saw the look Washington was giving Noah. _Approval_. But these two only knew so much about them because they were from the future, it wasn't nearly as easy trying to guess what someone was looking for in the present moment, especially someone so guarded as Washington.

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Huh...** _  
  
**[BURR:]**

_**I have some questions** _  
_**A couple of suggestions, on how to fight instead of fleeing West** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Yes?** _

"He sounds so annoyed," Laurens chuckled.

**[BURR:]**

_**Well—** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Your Excellency, you wanted to see me?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Hamilton, come in, have you met Burr?** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Yes, Sir!**_

Alexander and Aaron both looked at each other; this definitely hadn't happened this way. 

They barely knew each other when Hamilton became the General's Aide de Camp, and even though Aaron had offered his services, it was nowhere near around that time.

**[BURR & HAMILTON:]**

_**We keep meeting** _

**[BURR:]**

_**As I was saying, Sir, I look forward to seeing your strategy play out—** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Burr?** _

**[BURR:]**

_**Sir?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Close the door on your way out.** _

"Ouch!" The Revolutionary Set cried in unison, and despite not being a big fan of Burr, Lafayette turned towards Washington, "You did not have to be quite so harsh with him, Sir!"

George wasn't paying attention though, he was looking at the screen with a frown, a strange feeling in his stomach.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Have I done something wrong, Sir?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**On the contrary,** _  
_**I called you here because our odds are beyond scary** _  
_**Your reputation precedes you,** _  
**_But I have to laugh_ **

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Sir?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Hamilton, how come no one can get you on their staff?** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Sir!** _

Everyone laughed at Alexander's offended protest, someone murmuring 'Called the fuck out' under their breath. 

Hamilton shot the twins a dirty look.

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Don't get me wrong, you're a young man of great renown,** _  
_**I know you stole British cannons while we were still downtown.** _  
_**Nathanael Greene and Henry Knox wanted to hire you...** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**To be their secretary? I don't think so** _

_Seriously?_ Aaron almost sighed. Washington had turned him down for someone who didn't even want to work with him? Why?

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Why are you upset?** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I'm not...** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**It's alright, you want to fight,** _  
_**You've got a hunger;** _  
_**I was just like you when I was younger** _  
_**Head full of fantasies of dying like a martyr?** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**...Yes.** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**Dying is easy, young man** _  
_**Living is harder** _

"You couldn't be more correct, Sir." Alexander - the younger version of him - spoke up. "Or at least, the fictional version of you couldn't be."

George looked over at him, startled, since it was the first time the boy had spoken to him. In fact, he'd been so quiet during the last couple of songs that most of the gathered group had forgotten he was even there. Seeing the skinny, guarded teenager made something in him ache to hug the boy, but he refrained and politely asked, "How so?"

A sardonic grin appeared on the immigrant's face, "Staying alive must be very difficult, one only needs to ask my family to realize that." He replied, and the others stared at him while Hamilton choked on air. "The affliction doesn't seem to have passed on to myself, however. I've found death evades me quite frequently. Death comes too slowly, but life ends too quickly." 

Silence.

Washington felt like the wind was knocked out of him, he knew Alexander was just being cynical about the deaths of his loved ones, but he made it almost sound like it was unfair that he had survived. As if being alive was a punishment or negative experience. Still, he ought to respond. "Well, as we're seeing in this musical, you still have quite a lot you need to accomplish. Perhaps that is why." 

The boy took his gaze off of him then and slumped down into his seat, "Yeah... maybe."

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Why are you telling me this?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**I'm being honest,** _  
_**I'm working with what a third of what our Congress has promised.** _  
_**We are a powder keg about to explode,** _  
_**I need someone like you to lighten the load!** _  
_**So?** _

**[COMPANY EXCEPT HAMILTON:]**

_**I am not throwin' away my shot!** _  
_**I am not throwin' away my shot!** _  
_**Ayo, I'm just like my country,** _  
_**I'm young scrappy and hungry!** _

"You should make that your catchphrase. It suits you." John suggested weakly. 

Hamilton made a noise that could have been a laugh or a hum of agreement; it was true though.

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**I am not throwing away my shot!** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

**Son**

**[WASHINGTON & COMPANY:]**

_**We are outgunned, out-manned!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**You need all the help you can get!** _  
_**I have some friends;** _  
_**Laurens, Mulligan, Marquis de Lafayette!** _  
_**Okay, what else?** _

The named men were grinning with pride and delight that Alexander had mentioned them, and although Burr wanted to point out that they were only three people, it occurred to him that they were three people who had made a huge difference. Mulligan had been elemental during the war, especially when it came to Yorktown and they needed to beat the enemy once and for all; without Lafayette fighting tooth and nail to get French aid for them they wouldn't have even made it to the battle of York; and Laurens? He had been one of Washington's most trusted staff members due to both his passion, fearlessness, and his close connection with Congress via his father. George's affections for Laurens were second only to Hamilton himself and probably Lafayette. 

As it turned out, three people could get a _lot_ done.

**[WASHINGTON & COMPANY:] **

_**Outnumbered, out-planned!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**We'll need some spies on the inside,** _  
_**Some King's men who might let some things slide!** _

Hercules puffed out his chest, knowing that line was a reference to himself.

**[HAMILTON, COMPANY, SCHUYLER SISTERS & WOMEN:]**

_**Boom!** _

_**(Whoa, whoa, whoa!)** _

_**I'll write to Congress and tell 'em we need supplies,** _  
_**You rally the guys,** _  
_**Master the element of surprise...** _

_**Chick-a-boom!** _

_**(Whoa, whoa, whoa...)** _

_**I'll rise above my station,** _  
_**Organize your information,** _  
**_'Til we rise to the occasion_ of our new nation,**  
**Sir!**

"You know, as fast as this man portraying you is, I think you _still_ might be faster, Hamilton." John commented.

Eliza was smiling, "Alexander is definitely faster. Especially when he's nervous."

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Rise up!** _

All of the soldiers, minus George, immediately straightened up in response to the call for attention. 

No one was doing it on purpose, it was just sort of... instinctive, at this point.

**[LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**What?** _

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Rise up!** _

**[LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**What?** _

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

"Again, really?" Washington pinched the bridge of his nose, exasperated while his men snickered at him.

**[HAMILTON/SCHUYLER SISTERS/WOMEN:]**

_**Rise up!** _

**[ENSEMBLE:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

**[HAMILTON/SCHUYLER SISTERS:]**

_**Rise up!** _

"My boy, all grown up." Mulligan sniffled and pretended to wipe away a tear. 

Alexander responded by throwing a pillow at him as hard as he could, prompting a startled yelp, and laughter from everybody else, "Shut up, Herc. I was twenty years old."

"I'm allowed to be proud of you getting your first job!" 

"My first—?! Hey! I've been working since I was nine years old and you know that!" Alexander protested, offended.

Angelica frowned, "You - the other you - said you started working at eleven." She pointed out in a softer voice so Alex wouldn't hear her, causing Hamilton to frown and think back. 

"I became a _clerk_ at eleven, but I used to watch the younger children of our neighbors and run deliveries around Charlestown to help my mother when I was even younger. Businesses liked to use me because I was small and fast and could calculate how much was owed without much effort. Mother told me not to, until I came home one night with enough money to help feed us, the servants and the goat for the next three days, then she allowed me to help as long as I didn't go anywhere too far." He sounded immensely proud of this accomplishment, but Washington shut his eyes, inwardly cursing himself again for not being there for his child.

**[LAURENS/MULLIGAN/LAFAYETTE:]**

_**What?** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**Here comes the General!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**What?** _

**[WASHINGTON:]**

_**And his right hand man!** _

**[COMPANY:]**

_**BOOM!** _

That last 'boom', which was much, much louder than any of the previous ones, coupled with the band music, the ensemble shouting, and the audience cheering on top of the stage suddenly exploding into smoke, caused _everyone_ to nearly jump out of their seats in fright. All of the actors on stage had formed a perfect line formation while Washington and Hamilton posed together up front, almost startling the viewers with how much they looked like the real deal behavior wise, regardless of their appearances.

"Everybody okay?" Talia asked cautiously once the performance ended and she'd turned off the show. 

It took a moment, for they were all kind of shaken up, and Lafayette didn't respond until John prodded him in French for a response, not commenting on the tears in his eyes or how pale he was. 

"Alexander?" Washington asked, clearing his throat before trying again, "Hamilton, are you with us?" His son had a vacant expression on his face, like he was a million years away, his face had gone bone white and he had his hands in his lap, gripping his own wrist so tightly he'd cut off the circulation and his nails were digging into the soft skin of his palm, drawing blood. "Hamilton, son, can you hear me?" 

He tried to pull Alexander's hands apart so he wouldn't injure himself further but the secretary flinched as soon as he was touched and sprang to his feet and took off out of the theater room. 

"Hamilton!"

"Alex, wait!"

"Where are you going?!" 

Everyone was up by now, stretching and trying to clear their heads of the horribly realistic sound effects. 

Washington immediately began following him, only pausing when a hand caught his sleeve.

He found himself looking down at a young boy who, for just a moment, looked frighteningly like Alexander to him. Then the mirage faded and he was seeing a teenage boy with shaggy brown hair and deep green eyes. "Just, don't push him, okay? He'll come and talk to you when he's ready. He's got nothing against you, he's just not good at sharing how he feels." He said before walking away, leaving the future President wondering how the boy knew so much about his child when he'd only just met him earlier that day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is my longest chapter yet, 6000+ words baby! 
> 
> Next up: A Winter's Ball/Helpless!


	9. Tea Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A much needed break for the shaken up Revolutionaries leads to some interesting conversations.

As Washington left the room to follow Alexander, the twins got to work on taking care of everyone else. 

The heat was turned up and Noah grabbed a large stack of blankets to pass out among their guests, most of whom had gotten rather pale and shaky in the aftermath of _Right Hand Man_. Hercules seemed to be handling it the best, and the teen couldn't honestly tell if it was because he was just better at brushing off things that upset him or because he had spent less time on the battlefield than his friends. 

Regardless of the reason, the tailor took one of the larger blankets from Noah and wrapped it around Laurens' and Lafayette's shoulders, as the two men were pressed closely together and just sort of sitting there and shivering; Laurens' expression was blank while the Marquis was subtly trying to brush away the tears that kept falling down his cheeks. 

Talia had gone to the back of the room where the kitchenette was to make tea for everybody, and had plugged her iPhone into the dock, putting on a random old-timey classical music playlist (Mozart, Beethoven and Vivaldi, not really any of her favorites but she could still appreciate them) in the hopes that it would help them relax. Silence could be very unnerving, maybe some music from their time would be a comfort to the rattled soldiers? She was fairly certain most of them would have drank black tea almost exclusively, but made a few cups of alternatives just in case; she doubted they felt like answering her questions on 18th century American tea culture just so she could be sure.

Walking back over to where everyone was seated, she held out the tray to Laurens and Lafayette, "Here, I made tea. There's Darjeeling white tea, black tea, green tea which has a lower concentration of caffeine if you're sensitive to that sort of thing, and mint and chamomile tisane which are naturally caffeine free. We also have sugar and cream, too. I thought it might help." 

Blinking at her for a moment, the Frenchman lifted a hand, which was shaking, towards one of the cups of chamomile, and hesitated. 

"Don't look at it," she suggested.

"...Pardon?" 

She picked up the cup and offered it to him, "Don't look at the cup, or at your hands. Shakes are worsened by nerves sometimes, it's easier not to spill anything if you don't look at it. I was a waitress for a summer, trust me, it helps." The girl smiled at him, and after a moment of hesitation he returned the expression and took the cup, keeping his eyes off of it as he took a sip. 

"Lieutenant Colonel Laurens?" she called softly, "Are you still with us?" 

The young man slowly lifted his head, blinking, and cast his gaze towards Lafayette before scanning the rest of the room, "Where...? Where did I go?" he asked, his voice sounded off. Distant and sluggish. 

"It doesn't matter at the moment. All that matters is that you're back." Talia told him kindly, before offering him a cup of tea. "Hold this, it'll help warm your hands, okay?" Slowly, making sure he saw it coming, she laid her hand on the back of his shoulder. He still tensed up, but only for a moment or so; when she simply rubbed her hand up and down his back, the soldier slowly relaxed. 

Once he started drinking his tea and seemed alright, she moved on. 

"Miss Schuyler and Miss Schuyler," The teenage girl greeted, smiling warmly as she told them what the different types of tea were. "I have to ask, are either of you pregnant?" 

Eliza and Angelica both looked startled, and shook their heads. 

"Neither of us are married yet." Replied the youngest of the two sisters, glancing towards the door where Alexander had disappeared, wistfully. 

Talia shrugged slightly, "Marriage has nothing to do with pregnancy." She stated bluntly, causing them both to give her a strange look. "Yeah, I know, purity culture is a bitch. It doesn't really apply to this country anymore except in the really conservative areas. Single women have and raise children all the time. Anyways, I just needed to know because doctors warn against consuming certain types of herbs when pregnant in case it endangers the mother or the fetus." She explained as they each took a cup from the tray, Angelica chose Darjeeling while Eliza opted for mint. "How are you feeling?" 

"A little out of sorts," Eliza confessed, "A couple of hours ago I was standing at the altar with the intention of marrying the love of my life, and now I am here watching a show about his legacy. It's very strange." She said. 

"Yeah, it freaked me out too, the first time I time-traveled, it can be a hell of a mind fuck." Talia stated bluntly, causing the high class women to stare at her again. "Sorry, I'm trying to curtail the swearing because I know it's rude where you come from; it's rude here too, but much more normal in casual company at least. Plus I'm a teenager so hormones dictate I swear a lot, rebel and languish about life in general." She giggled, and Angelica cracked a grin. 

Meanwhile, Noah had snagged a couple of the cups to give to Mulligan and Burr, "Don't tell my sister, I put whiskey in these." He said, and they suddenly seemed more interested in the drinks. "You guys looked like you could use it. I know this is all sorts of fucked up and if comic books and Sci-Fi movies have taught me anything it's that we definitely shouldn't be doing it in the first place, but we have our reasons, and you'll eventually know why it's necessary. Until then, is there anything you would like to know?" 

Hercules, who had before acted quite enthusiastic about this whole situation, now seemed rather serious, "No offense kid, but unless it'll help me save Alexander and John from killing themselves with their own reckless passion, there isn't anything I particularly feel the need to change. Excuse me." He fluffed Noah's hair to show him there were no hard feelings before returning to his friends. 

"Mr. Burr?" 

Aaron was silent for a long time, "...When I killed Hamilton, in the future," he began, keeping his voice low so no one else would overhear, "...He didn't try to shoot back, did he?" The man had braced himself, and Noah could tell he really didn't want to know, but that he _needed_ to. 

The teenager shifted from one foot to the other, "It's... difficult to say. I wasn't there, and your seconds give different accounts of what happened..." he hesitated. 

"Please, just give me the most likely answer." 

Noah set his own drink aside and sat down beside him, looking at his hands for a long moment. "...Alexander wrote a letter to Elizabeth before leaving, about how much he loved her, and how she should seek comfort with her God and that he adores his children, et cetera. His second claimed that on the boat ride over, he said that he intended to throw away his shot and end the duel. It's not clear in the history books who aimed at who first, but it's widely believed that you shot Hamilton, and his gun went off as he fell and the bullet hit the tree inches away from where you were standing, making it uncertain whether you believed Hamilton intended to kill you..." he trailed off.

"There's something else," Burr said, looking at the boy.

It wasn't a question.

He sighed and nodded, "Apparently... Hamilton's gun had a hair trigger on it." He said, and Burr's eyes widened at the revelation. "He told Pendleton, the man he was with, that he wasn't going to use it this time. After regaining consciousness he woke up and saw the pistol, and told the doctor _'take care of that pistol; it is undischarged and still cocked; it may go off and do harm'_ and said that _'Pendleton knows that I did not intend to fire at him.'_ " Seeing the grief-filled look on Aaron's face, he couldn't leave it there, even though he should have. "Despite a harsher view on what you did overseas where Hamilton was more popular, many believe that you had every reason to think that he was going to take deadly aim, and that you were within your rights to do the same. If he wanted to put a stop to the whole thing without anyone dying he could have fired at the ground. The portrayal at the end of the musical isn't completely accurate, it's dramatized for the emotional factor. In my personal opinion... Alexander did not want to kill you, but a sense of honor and pride would not allow him to call off the duel because of your guys' animosity towards each other would not allow either of you to apologize. He also left a note saying he intended to throw away his first shot, claiming he hoped it would give you time to pause and change your mind."

"Why not fire at the ground then, and make it clear he wanted to end it honorably?" Burr asked, weakly, rubbing a hand down over his face. 

Noah hesitated, "I can only speculate on what he was doing. It could have been that he didn't want it to be overly obvious he was throwing his shot away because it would look cowardly, but..." his gaze drifted towards Philip, who was now talking with his mother, albeit somewhat awkwardly. "Perhaps he wasn't thinking clearly... or perhaps he didn't want to end the duel without bloodshed." He suggested. "The musical portrays him as someone who is afraid of dying without a legacy, but also a death seeker. Is it better to die on a battlefield in the middle of a great, historic controversy, or fade away after the scandals you were a part of are no longer interesting? My mom used to like saying that some people are _born tired_. Kids are supposed to be innocent but sometimes, it's possible to be weary of life before you've even lived it. Maybe what Hamilton saw was a way to die without growing old and feeble, but without having to do it to himself. A way to secure his legacy and ensure his family was looked after when he was gone." 

"...You think it was suicide?" 

The boy stood up, jamming his hands into the pockets of his jeans, "I think... that if the duel happened on July 11th, that the fact that his final letter to his wife was dated July 4th meant he had a _lot_ of time to think about what he was going to do; this is a man who could have written the biggest crock of shit on the planet and still convinced others he was right, because he's just that good - the fact that he didn't even _try_ to find another solution to the problem makes me wonder if he just didn't want one at all. Hamilton might've been a dick to you towards the end, but I don't think even he was selfish enough to frame you for his own indirect suicide just to secure his legacy in a way that makes him seem more sympathetic at the expense of your reputation. I think when people are lost they do things without thinking it through, and when you're dead it's too late to realize you've made a mistake." He turned and walked off after that, leaving the man more conflicted than ever.

* * *

George found Alexander sitting on the floor of the bathroom, looking at something in his hands. 

His steps were quiet as he approached the other man without a word, knowing the boy would still hear him; and he was a _boy_ in his eyes, it didn't matter that this version was fifteen years older than the one that he knew from his own time, he was still his son. "May I join you?" 

"It's a free country." Alexander replied, and the fact that he didn't crack a grin at his own words showed the older male just how serious this situation was. He also had the distinct feeling that while his Aide had been effected by the noises from that last song, that wasn't what had caused him to walk out. No, more likely it was that he just wasn't enjoying having everyone he knew see personal details of his life turned into dramatic entertainment. 

_I miss my family, I wish I were with them now, as I know them to be. Are they thinking of me? Do they wish I was there with them?_ Alexander thought to himself, guilt churning in his stomach as he thought of the fact that they had gone away for the summer without him. He wanted to go so badly, but... he couldn't lose his job, not with five children and a wife who needed him. Being able to provide for his family had to take precedent to spending time with them when he wanted, and he hated that more than anything.

Sitting down on the floor beside Hamilton with his back towards the wall, George glanced at what the other man was holding. 

It appeared to be a trinket of some sort, a set of copper oval-shapes that attached in the center and could collapse into a pocket sized item to carry around on a chain; there were miniature watercolor portraits painted on the inside of the ovals. He recognized Eliza Schuyler (or rather, _Eliza Hamilton_ ) right away, but he didn't know who the others were. 

"My children," Alexander said softly, as if guessing what he was thinking. It seemed even with the distance between them, a result of being from two different times, the man still knew how to read just as he had when he was a nineteen-year-old boy."We had these painted in March as a late anniversary gift to ourselves."

George felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears, and his voice was shaking slightly as he asked, "May I...?" 

Despite how closely he was cradling the object, as though it were his family actually with him in the moment, Alexander handed the portraits over to George, allowing him a closer look. He didn't want to admit it, but his hands felt rather clumsy in that moment, and he took care not to drop them by mistake. 

The first one after Mrs Hamilton was a portrait of a boy around the age of nine or ten with thick waves of brown auburn hair and intelligent dark eyes. Philip, he realized, recognizing the features of the teen in the other room. The next one was of a girl about six years of age with ringlets of honey brown hair and deep blue eyes. "That's little Angelica." His son murmured beside him. He traced his finger gently over the portrait, she had the same smile as his mother, Mary, but she also closely resembled her aunt and namesake, Angelica Schuyler. He moved along to the next one, which was of a smiling brunette girl about five with chocolate brown eyes and a porcelain complexion. 

When George glanced at Alexander he offered a fond little smile, "Our adoptive daughter, Frances Antill, or Fanny. She came to live with us when she was two after her mother died, a temporary situation until her father, Lieutenant Colonel Edward Antill, could get back on his feet. He passed away a few years ago and we couldn't bear to give her away, so we'll be caring for her until she's grown up, or until one of her older siblings are able to. She's a treasure; Angie had been _begging_ for a little sister to spend time with, so she was quite pleased." 

He smiled, knowing his son had a soft spot for children, he always had. 

The next portrait was a boy, four or five, with Eliza's dark glossy hair, gray blue eyes and a serene expression, and the sixth one was also a boy, toddler aged, this one had dark strawberry brown hair and light brown eyes. "Alexander Jr. and James," he explained, and George frowned, taking a closer look at the toddler. 

Alexander folded his hands in his lap quietly and stared at the wall opposite to them, "Shortly after Alex was born, I... um, I received word that my brother, James, had passed away... it was a fever." He admitted quietly, and murmured something under his breath in French. " _Ç'est toujours une putain de fièvre_." Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he added, "Little Alex was already baptized, so it was too late to honor him that way... but two years later in '88, when Eliza and I welcomed our fifth child into our lives, we agreed to name him after my older brother. James Alexander Hamilton. It isn't much, it doesn't make up for..." For the fact that he'd left James on the islands alone, or that he hadn't been able to contribute as much financially to his sibling's life as he would have liked. Didn't change that he never got to see him again, or bring him to the States like he had always hoped. But it was better than nothing. He had managed to get in touch with Mary, his brother's wife he hadn't known about, who had a daughter with him apparently; but she had no interest in moving, so the ways he was able to assist her were limited. "Well, anyways."

"I'm sorry, Alexander." George said quietly, knowing despite their estrangement at a young age, Hamilton cared a great deal about his older brother.

For a moment he thought his son would continue the conversation, but he shook his head and moved along instead. "Eliza's already talking about our next one. Everybody says we should slow down before trying again, but she's healthy and strong and said she will gladly have as many children as she is able. If it's a girl we're going to name her Rachel Catherine, after the women who raised us." His lips quirked up in a sad sort of way; he still missed her very much, but it seemed like a good way to honor her and everything she did for him.

George felt his throat tighten at the mention of the long deceased mother of his son, and he turned his gaze back to the portraits of Alexander's children, _his grandchildren_ , and asked, absently, "And if the child is another son?" 

His question was met with silence.

Realizing after a moment that Alexander hadn't answered, he lifted his head and found his son staring at the wall, his eyes shining, "...Alex?" 

"I... Eliza and I are discussing it still... but..." Hamilton looked at him and then quickly away, wiping a tear from his cheek the moment it fell. "Something along the lines of.... John Laurens Church. After Angelica's husband and..." he trailed off, swallowing hard as he quietly took back the portraits and folded them up, "I think I would like to be alone now, Sir." 

The future president could feel his soul aching for with the desire to hold his now grown up child. He'd known they loved each other, Alexander and John, though he never said a word about it to either of them for it was safer not to discuss such things. He had also known that a relationship such as theirs, if indeed they had acted on those emotions, could have only ended in pain; either they would be forced apart by the law itself and inability to keep their secret, or to death, and either option would break one or both of their hearts. George reached towards him, "Alexander—"

He looked away from the man, "Father, _please_."

George froze at his words, feeling like he'd been struck when Alexander called him that... how did he _know?_ Did he tell him in the future, or let it slip by accident? Had Alexander figured it out on his own? So many times he'd wanted to hear the boy call him that, and now that he was he couldn't actually believe it. "When did you...?" 

A rueful not-smile appeared on Alexander's face even as a few more tears escaped his exhausted eyes, "I don't think it's a wise idea to tell you that, Sir. Just let it be known that we are still very much close in the future, and that my children are well aware of who you are." He informed him, before burying his face in his arms, "I will join you and the others shortly, I promise I will. I just need a moment to collect myself, first. Please." He murmured, his words muffled. 

Unable to think of anything else to say, George silently stood up and made his way out of the bathroom, ignoring the innate wrongness he felt at leaving his son crying alone on the floor.

When he returned to the theater room he found the first three rows of seats were gone, now replaced with several large, thick mattresses covered in pillows and blankets, and his men and the ladies chatting quietly among themselves, seeming less tense than before. 

But he couldn't stop thinking about Alexander. 

What was watching the rest of this musical going to do to him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No song for this update, I just wrote this today after publishing Right Hand Man early this morning, but I was feeling inspired. The musical will resume next chapter with A Winter's Ball/Helpless, possibly including Satisfied depending on how long the chapter gets; I don't mind doing more than one song per chapter and A Winter's Ball is pretty short so we'll see. I intend to stay somewhat true to history and somewhat true to the musical, either way; Angelica does eventually marry John Church, possibly shortly after meeting Hamilton (instead of in 1777 when she did in real life) but I'm keeping the pining-for-Alex subplot for emotional reasons.


	10. Questions For My Readers (NOT a hiatus/abandonment, please read!)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a question I had about a couple of ideas I had for this story!

So, obviously this isn't an update, but don't be disappointed, I fully intend to post the next chapter (A Winter's Ball/Helpless/Satisfied) either tonight or tomorrow (Sat/Sun EST), I just had a couple of questions for people who've been reading/following this story that I'd like to ask before I update next. Feel free to respond in the comments; this 'chapter' will be deleted by tomorrow night anyways and re-uploaded as the proper chapter it's meant to be!

#1: I feel like despite some playful back and forth between characters, I've failed to really introduce any actual conflict in this story thus far, aside from Alexander's angst that is lmao. So I guess the first question is - should I have there be more fights/arguments? I know it's still early yet and there will be plenty of time for characters to get mad at each other (we've got such lovely conflicts to look forward to such as - Alexander's future cheating on his wife, Angelica not being honest with Ham and Eliza about her feelings for him, Washington being overly stubborn about not giving Alexander a command, Alex and Burr being at each other's throats because of their own idiotic stubbornness, and plenty of other things). I plan to at least partially address Hamilton's and Burr's difficulty with seeing one another's point of view in the chapter that 'Wait For It' will appear in since it's the perfect opportunity. More below. 

#2: I had a friend read what I'd written so far, and she liked it, but she did wonder if I was planning to introduce more characters for the second act. I did, actually. I was going to introduce Madison, Jefferson, and possibly some more female characters (Theodosia, Martha Washington, Theo Burr (their daughter), but I haven't fully decided. Looking on it, I kind of wish I'd included James and Thomas from the beginning, if only because their thoughts on the politics of the first half might have been interesting and they'd stop things from getting TOO fluffy, but also because having Burr and Hamilton possibly end up friends by the time this story is over is a goal (only if it happens naturally, I won't force it if it doesn't feel right). Should I go back and include them from the beginning? I can do that, it wouldn't be an issue to go and edit the last few chapters, and if I do it I would rather it be now than when the story is almost half done and I'd have a lot more to edit. Do YOU guys wanna see Mads and TJ react to the entire musical as opposed to just the second half? Let me know! 

#3: Instead of choosing whether to eventually use Burn or First Burn later on, I've sort of mashed the lyrics together into an echoey sounding melody by playing both tracks at the same time and writing the lyrics down as I hear them, which makes the song longer but also means that all the lyrics get included since while they're largely the same, there's a handful of lines that only appear in one song or the other and not both. What do you guys think of that, should I use the lyrics for both? The reason I wanted to do this because I feel like not only would it be confusing to force the gang to listen to both songs separately, but also that it would be mean and Talia and Noah wouldn't want to force Hamilton to sit through it twice when he'll already be feeling like crap. Thoughts? 

#4 and final question: Is there any characters you really, really want to see in this story that you don't often see included in 'Characters React/Watch' stories for Hamilton? I'm always open to suggestions. 

Thank you for reading and please leave your input down below either anonymously or otherwise. 

I will be deleting this in 24 hours (around 11:30pm March 29th, Eastern Time). 

Edit: Definitely posting the new chapter on Sunday! Logging off now (3:30am) to get some sleep, but the chapter's at nearly 3,000 words and nearly done. Thank you all for being so patient!


	11. A Winter's Ball/Helpless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who left feedback on my questions for this story!
> 
> At the moment I'm still somewhat undecided about what to do, but I'm leaning towards leaving the story as is and introducing Jefferson and Madison at the intermission between Act I & II like I had originally planned. I deeply appreciate all of your tips/suggestions/input though, it's a huge encouragement! 
> 
> Originally I wanted to do more than one song in this chapter but it occurred to me that Eliza deserved to have it to herself, since it is the love-song of the musical. Besides, I think Satisfied is going to have enough going on in it that it'll have plenty of dialogue and whatnot happening during it that two songs would make it too long. So the next chapter will be Satisfied, and the one after that will be the Story of Tonight (Reprise)/Wait for it. 
> 
> Thanks again and I hope you enjoy!

When Alexander finally managed to compose himself, he returned to the theater room.

The others were now spread out across several tall pillow-topped mattresses, eating pastries and drinking tea while talking quietly as the sound of Vivaldi's _Four Seasons_ filled the room, although he could see no one playing instruments anywhere in sight, nevertheless he found himself unconsciously relaxing as the violins drowned out his rather loud and unpleasant thoughts. His friends, at the very least, seemed like they were no longer as upset as before; on the contrary they were laughing at some sort of no doubt filthy joke being told by the twins; for all their attempts to hide it, they both seemed to have a rather crass sense of humour. 

He caught a glimpse of John's bright and breathtakingly familiar grin and momentarily lost his focus, putting his weight down on his bad foot improperly, and quick as anything, his legs were out from under him and he was crashing towards the ground, prompting a yelp of pain as he landed on his side. 

"What the hell?!" 

"Alexander!" 

"Mon petit lion! Est-ce que ça va?!" 

Just like that, he was suddenly surrounded, looking into the wide eyes of his father, former lover, best friends, and wife and sister-in-law (or was it _future_ wife and _future_ sister-in-law? God, he hadn't even known it existed for a day yet and he already hated time travel, these distinctions were making his head hurt). 

Being surrounded suddenly was a bit overwhelming.

"Are you okay?" Laurens and Hercules helped get him to his feet, and much to his displeasure they insisted on assisting him in walking over to one of the seats, spikes of agony shooting up through his right leg and hip. "Alexander, where is your cane? You know you're not supposed to go anywhere without it." His dead-but-not lover chastised him lightly, and he had to close his eyes for a moment due to the hollow ache that send pangs through his chest with how familiar the scolding was; he hadn't heard John's voice speaking to him in that way in a long time.

Whenever he had forgotten something like that or even done something he probably should not have, John would always give him that look that was equally as fond as it was exasperated, the one that said _'You brilliant idiot, what would you do if you didn't have Eliza or I to look out for you, hmm? You need to take better care of yourself!'_

Peculiarly, though he had not rushed to his aid like the others, Burr, of all people, was shooting him a concerned look out of the corner of his eye. 

Aaron was the last person he had thought would fret about his well-being.

He groaned, relieved when he finally sat down, rubbing his hand up and down his soon-to-be bruised knee and calf, "I don't have it with me, I must have dropped it when I was _abducted_." He grumbled, shooting the teenagers a look that was more annoyed than truly angry. 

To his surprise, looks of _immediate_ guilt flashed across their faces.

Huh. That was... strange.

In all honesty, he hadn't entertained any idea that they truly cared about him, given they'd dragged them all here just to embarrass Alexander and mock his legacy with this ridiculousness. Perhaps he was a bit harsh with them. If he thought about it for a moment, he realized that these two children were from many years in the future. Social expectations evolved constantly. Perhaps they really did think that what they were doing was a good idea... he couldn't deny the fact that if he had the ability to manipulate time, there were people and places he would certainly want to meet and visit. 

He just wished it hadn’t been _his_ life that they had chosen to play God with. 

"Oh, fuck, I'm so sorry!' Noah procured his cane out of thin air, and it was really saying something that he no longer blatantly gaped at such _nonsense_. He reached out and took it with a murmured thanks, feeling a twinge of regret for being rude to them. He was just _tired_. The cane was a gift to him from Henry Knox himself, who had given him a much needed (though not entirely believed) pep talk of sorts regarding the fact that his injury did not lessen him in anyways. It really was a lovely piece of craftsmanship to look at - polished wood and a mother-of-pearl and brass embellished handle - but he disliked that he needed to use it at all, it was just a reminder of his own weakness and memories he'd much rather put behind him. 

Alexander had to try very hard not to glare at the people staring at him, the ones from a time before his injury occurred who were no doubt wondering where it came from - Washington, Angelica, Eliza and his younger self of course. Even Philip looked curious, but that was likely more due to the fact that Hamilton had deliberately kept the details of his history a secret from his family, just as he did with his childhood; the boy had grown up seeing him use this cane so he doubted it surprised him much to see it now.

But he didn't want to think about it at all.

Talia picked up on this rather quickly because she clapped her hands together, "Okay, so there's two options. We can either do whatever we feel like until we're tired enough to go to sleep, or we can stay up a couple of extra hours and maybe finish watching the rest of Act I, and spend tomorrow watching the second half of the musical. Let's put it to a vote, who wants to watch the rest of the first act?" 

Unsurprisingly, most of their hands went up, either because they weren't tired yet or because they were eager to hopefully see more of themselves appear in the show. 

"Okay, well that settles it. I'm going to go make some hot chocolate. Noah, you start it." She threw the remote at him and it froze in mid air as though caught by invisible hands, before slowly lowering itself into his reach, and a couple of the Revolutionaries murmured about 'unnatural powers' under their breaths while he cracked a grin. They were hundreds of years in the future, scattered from across their original timelines, and it was the Telekinesis that they found strange.

Well, alright then.

Soon enough his sister had returned with drinks for everyone, and surprisingly they did actually have hot chocolate in the 18th century, so there was no explanation needed for what it was. They also understood marshmallows so that was just a bonus. According to Angelica, the 21st century version was more sweet than the concoction the were used to. "I'm sure it is, we don't drink it too often though. That much sugar on a regular basis can rot your teeth." 

Off to the side, Washington twitched self-consciously. 

As they all settled in on the large and comfortable beds to watch, Eliza suddenly spoke up, "There aren't going to be anymore cannon sound effects are there?"

Everyone tensed a little bit at the question, and there were some definite sighs of relief when the response were head shakes. 

"No. In fact, the last time anything like that is near the end of the first half of the musical, and even then it's much less pronounced than in 'Right Hand Man', because they're singing over it rather than having the noises play between the lines." Noah reassured them. "There's really nothing having to do with the war in the next couple of songs; it's about Hamilton and Eliza meeting and beginning their relationship, actually." 

"Oh, is it going to include their wedding?" Hercules asked, and brightened when Talia gave the affirmative. 

Eliza sighed and looked down at her naked left hand, feeling a pang of longing for the moment she'd been snatched away from. Logically she knew that she would be brought to the same time, and it would be like she never left, but that didn't stop her from wishing she was there now, marrying her Alexander... the one smiling and full of hope. The one sitting not far from her looked so... _sad_.

He wasn't her Hamilton at all. 

Maybe this song would cheer her up?

**[BURR:]**

_**How does a bastard, orphan,** _  
_**Son of a whore, go on and on** _  
_**Grow into more of a phenomenon?** _

_"Excuse me?"_ Hamilton's voice was ice cold. " _What_ did he just say about my mother?" 

The others were rudely reminded at that point that the man hadn't been present for the first song in which similar lines were used, so these insults probably seemed like they came out of nowhere.

John quickly jumped to fill him in, "It seems to be a reoccurring theme for you, Alexander. At the beginning they used those words to point out how far you'd come since the island, I don't think it's an insult so much as pointing out the progress you're making with each stage of the musical; it's showing everybody else that you didn't let it hold you back." He said, and the kind tone he used seemed to soften him up. Obviously he still didn't like hearing Rachel being disrespected (he was more bothered by that than the slurs directed at himself, which he was plenty used to by now), but he could see why they were calling attention to it now. 

"Besides," Talia added, looking at Hamilton, "The world is well aware that your mother wasn't actually a lady of the night, Mr. Hamilton." When he glanced at her she clarified, "We know about Johann Lavien, and what he put her through. The prison, the harassment and defamation of her character. Being forcibly married to a monster at, what, sixteen years old? Most historians are disgusted by it and agree that the rumors spread about her after her divorce were nothing more than slander on his part." 

He stared at her for a long moment, for once unsure what to say, and then nodded his head in thanks, turning his attention back to the screen. 

It was nice to know history didn't judge his mother too harshly for her choices, regardless of them being out of the ordinary at the time.

_**Watch this obnoxious, arrogant, loudmouth bother** _  
_**Be seated at the right hand of the father** _

Hamilton rolled his eyes at the insults, before freezing at the last part. _Wait, are they...?_

"Did..." Hercules squinted, "Did they just compare the General to God?" He asked, with a hint of nervousness. 

The look on Washington's face said _exactly_ how he felt about that, and some of his men winced at his expression before looking away. 

"Uh, sort of? They aren't literally calling him God, it's an allusion to the Bible at most. The musical is filled with religious themes and quotes. There's even nods to Greek mythology. It may be based on a quote from the scripture but I think it's more referring to the fact that Washington is called 'The Father of America' and 'The Founding Father', while others are just referred to as Founding Fathers. He's distinguished from the others because he led you all in your fight for freedom." Noah cautiously explained, and while George still seemed perturbed, he no longer looked downright furious. 

Mutually, the twins decided _never_ to tell him about the Washington statue that depicted him as a Roman God, they didn't want to know how he would react to that.

They could tell him about the _multiple_ different ways that America had overly romanticized him another time, when he didn't already look ready to blow a gasket.

_**Washington hires Hamilton right on sight,** _  
_**But Hamilton still wants to fight, not write** _  
_**Now Hamilton's skill with a quill is undeniable** _  
_**But what do we have in common?** _

Angelica's head tilted, trying to think of something the two men had in common besides being prodigies who were orphaned at a young age, and later joined the war effort.

Meanwhile, Hamilton threw a calculative look over his shoulder at Burr, who wasn't paying attention. 

_Hmm... could he actually be jealous?_ Alexander had known that the other man had secretly coveted the position of Washington's right hand, if only because he knew it would be an incredible opportunity to rise up in terms of power and status, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed like Aaron was not jealous of his position as head Aide-de-Camp at the time, but of the fact that George had handpicked him. Was it possible he desired a closer relationship with the General, back then? 

_**We're reliable with the—** _

**[ALL MEN:]**

_**Ladies!** _

"Oh, Good Lord." Aaron groaned and dropped his head into his hands.

Everyone else, Hamilton and John included, just stared at the screen, dumbfounded. 

**[BURR:]**

_**There are so many to deflower!** _

**[ALL MEN:]**

_**Ladies!** _

"Aaron!" The man was redder than a tomato, looking like he wanted to vanish into his seat as the women sent him offended looks and the men laughed at his expense. 

Talia was just thinking about how she couldn't believe anyone thought virginity was a real, physical thing back then, rather than a vestigial piece of the body designed to protect females from germs. She shook her head to herself. Sadly, some people still thought they were related.

What a crock.

**[BURR:]**

_**Looks! Proximity to power!** _

**[ALL MEN:]**

_**Ladies!** _

**[BURR:]**

_**They delighted and distracted him,** _  
_**Martha Washington named her feral tomcat after him!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**That's true!** _

Washington looked confused and Hamilton sighed, frustrated, "It is _not_ true! That nonsense was made up by that damned idiot, John Adams and his gossip wife and circulated in their circle because of their dislike for me. It doesn't make a lick of sense, either. I know they were comparing me to a raggedy stray by calling me feral, but it's a rather poor insult. Why include it? It's a nickname for a cat from a book published in 1760." he deadpanned 

"Yeah, about that. The word "Tomcat" eventually became a verb in the early 20th century, thanks to that book." Talia told them, and he frowned in confusion, because to him it was just a nickname for a male cat. "It's, ah, original definition is _'to pursue women promiscuously for sexual gratification'_." she said, and Hamilton's eyes widened. "Basically, the musical is calling you a philanderer, of sorts. The term we'd use today is 'man whore', which... not saying it's _accurate_ , but you _did_ kind of garner a reputation for being a flirt because women spoke of how charming you were. Hell, even a few men commented on your attractiveness."

His face flushed, embarrassed and offended at the implications of her words, and he huffed in annoyance, "That is preposterous! The only woman I have ever been with is my Eliza." He insisted, and the younger version of his wife smiled while Talia simply nodded, her face not giving anything away. 

**[FULL COMPANY:]**

_**Seventeen-Eighty** _

**[BURR:]**

_**A winter's ball,** _  
_**And the Schuyler sisters are the envy of all** _  
_**Yo, if you can marry a sister, you're rich, son** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Is it a question of if, Burr, or which one?** _

If possible, Alexander's blush grew brighter and sink into his seat, still mumbling under his breath, "Ridiculous, I've never had eyes for any woman besides Eliza, from the moment I met her." For once, he had no desire to brag. Other women had approached him at times, hinted at perhaps desiring more than just friendly companionship, but despite his ego preening at the compliments they gave him, he had never considered actually laying with any of them, for the same reason he'd never thought of being with any man besides his dear Laurens, even after he had passed on. No one could ever replace the love he held for John and Eliza. They were the ones he loved, no random strangers who believed certain slanderous lies about him and wanted to prove that they were 'true' by attempting to undress him.

It didn't help that people from the Caribbean were thought of as being overly promiscuous, both the men and the women, and without any evidence of it.

The twins shared an uneasy glance at his words, when he wasn't looking. _Yet_.

**[HAMILTON/BURR/LAURENS:]**

_**Hey** _  
_**Hey** _  
_**Hey** _  
_**Hey** _

_**Hey, hey** _  
_**Hey, hey** _

Everyone burst out laughing at the ridiculous dance the men on stage did and their suggestive chanting.

Suddenly, there was a transition as the middle circular part of the stage turned and the sound of the female ensemble singing flowed, overlapping the men's voices before replacing them all together.

**[ELIZA & ALL WOMEN:]**

_**Ooooh, I do, I do, I do** _  
_**I doooo!** _

_**Hey, hey, hey, hey** _  
_**Hey, hey, hey, hey** _

_**Hey! Ohhh, I do, i do, I do,** _  
_**I doooo!** _

"Wow, are those supposed to be two different songs?" Philip asked, startling everybody who had forgotten that he was present. "If so, that was an incredible transition!"

"You're sharp, that's exactly what it is." Noah smiled.

_**Hey, hey, hey, hey** _  
_**Hey, hey, hey** _

_**Ooooh! Boy you got me** _  
_**Helpless!** _

Eliza's gaze refocused on the screen and Alexander was paying more attention now as the actress representing his wife appeared. 

_**Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit!** _  
_**I'm helpless!** _  
_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em!** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**I have never been the type to try n' grab the spotlight** _  
_**We were at a revel with some rebels on a hot night** _  
_**Laughin' at my sister as she's dazzlin' the room** _  
_**Then you walked in and my heart went "Boom!"** _

"Cette chanson est adorable." Lafayette said with a smile. "Mademoiselle Eliza a l'air enchantée!"

"Oui," Angelica confirmed, and Hamilton arched an eyebrow, because he didn't often hear her speak French; he knew she could, it was just a rare occurrence in the time he had known her. "Elle a été frappée d'amour."

_**Tryin' to catch your eye from the side of the ballroom,** _  
_**Everybody's dancin' and the band's top volume** _

**[ELIZA & WOMEN:]**

_**Grind to the rhythm as we wine n' dine** _

Washington nearly choked on his hot chocolate as he saw the way the ensemble dancing, if one could even _call_ it that. The men and women were all in close contact, rear-to-crotch against each other, and swaying back and forth in a rather lascivious manner. He looked at Talia for an explanation. The young girl seemed to be the most historically informed, but she was just nodding along to the song with a smile, not seeming to notice anything off about the rather lewd movements of the couples on stage.

He would have to ask her about it later, then.

**[ELIZA & ALL WOMEN:]**

_**Grab my sister and whisper, "Yo, this one's mine!" (Ooh!)** _

Hamilton was staring at the younger version of his wife, "You _didn't_."

Eliza flushed a gentle shade of pink and refused to make eye contact with her future spouse. 

"She did!" Angelica confirmed to him in a cheery tone as her sister blushed furiously, although deep down she was worried. If the playwright somehow knew about these small little details that were rather insignificant in the overall picture of what their lives would be, then what _else_ he was privy to? She was a bit concerned about what else this musical would tell them...

_**My sister made her way across the room to you (Ooh!)** _  
_**And I got nervous thinkin' "What's she gonna do?" (Ooh!)** _  
_**She grabs you by the arm, I'm thinking "I'm through!" (Ooh!)** _

_**Then you look back at me and suddenly I'm** _  
_**Helpless!** _

_**Oh, look at those eyes!** _

"What about my eyes?" Alexander asked, self-consciously looking for some sort of reflective surface. 

Noah laughed, "Dude, they're almost purple. Like something out of a fairy-tale." 

Hamilton sputtered indignantly, "They most certainly are not!" his eyes were perfectly normal, thank you very much!

Talia laughed, "He means that, when it comes to the particular shade of blue eyes you have, people often refer to them as violet, though they're not actually purple, rather it's just the way we perceive them. Either way, it's not unheard of. The way our genes work effect the pigment our skin, hair, and eye color end up. Someone with a lot of melanin in their eyes, the pigment to which I'm referring, is going to have darker eyes, like Eliza's, which can range from a lighter brown or hazel to dark brown or even black. She is white, however, which means the melanin is in her hair and eyes but not her skin. Darker haired people have more eumelanin, while people with high amounts of pheomelanin tend to have red or orange hair. People with very little melanin may have very pale blue or gray-blue eyes like General Washington does," she said, prompting everyone to turn and look at the individuals mentioned. "Alexander's eyes are blue, but the color appears much more rare because he simply has the right amount of melanin and light scattering in his irises to make it appear under certain conditions as though his eyes are a violet color. It's the same reason why we look at the sky and see blue when the sunlight touches it, but it seems to change color as it gets darker when the sun sets." she explained, causing a few confused looks. "Okay, let me put in this way. Africans generally have dark skin and dark eyes and hair right? And Europeans more often than not have very light blond or brown hair, fair skin and light eyes?"

A few of them nodded, slowly. 

"Right, well to put it in much simpler terms, melanin is the reason why. Let's say a woman with blue eyes had a child with a brown eyed man, that child has a nearly 66% percent chance of having brown eyes, since brown eyes are a dominant trait. If the father had green eyes and the mother had blue eyes, because of the color brown's dominance, the child still has a 50% likelihood of inheriting brown eyes, but a 25% of having green despite it being recessive, and the other 25% for blue eyes. It's actually very rare for a natural redhead to be born with blue eyes, most often they have green, brown or hazel eyes. Most likely if the couple I'm describing had three children together at least two of them would be brown eyed. So, even if both parents had green eyes and red hair, there's still a slight chance of the baby having blue eyes instead of green because the green eyed allele is recessive, especially if their parents were dominant gene carriers, but blue eyes are still quite rare, and with two light eyed parents the chance for brown eyes goes down dramatically. That's the least complicated way I can summarize it, but it's all genetics." She told them, seeing it begin to click with some of them, like Burr, Angelica and a few of the more well read individuals. "You're more likely to run into a fair skinned person with blue or green eyes than you are to run into one with dark brown eyes, just like you're more likely to run into a redhead with brown or green eyes than you are blue eyes. It's not a guarantee, of course, if you go somewhere with a higher population of mixed race individuals that all goes out the window because of a greater genetic diversity in the breeding pool. But melanin is also what causes the sun to tan our skin." 

Seeing that they no longer looked quite as confused, she decided to make it clearer, by asking, "Let me guess, Alexander; you burn very easily when exposed to too much sun, don't you? Even though, by all logic, growing up in the Caribbean means you should be fairly used to it and should have developed some form of resistance by now?"

"I... well, yes." He and George grimaced, remembering Monmouth again. 

Noah chimed in, "It's all connected! Mr. Hamilton, you and the General both have red hair." He pointed out, causing the latter to stiffen, concerned about what he might say in front of the others. "It's been discovered in more recent scientific and medical studies that redheads are actually more prone to certain cancers, getting sun burns, and can actually be resistant to anesthetics and other medicines. Melanin protects the skin from UV light radiation, that is to say, damage caused by over-exposure to the sunlight. Because you're pale with light eyes and red hair, you're probably unnaturally sensitive to the sunlight and avoided it back on the island whereas, I'm going to guess, your brother did not?" 

"My brother loved sunny days on the beach." Alexander sighed almost wistfully. 

"There you have it. Lieutenant Colonel Laurens," the man in question looked at Talia. "You have blond hair, but I notice you have light freckling on your face and a slightly reddish or strawberry tint to your coloring. I know your ancestors were primarily French Huguenots, but I bet if we traced it back far enough you'd have at least a couple of ancestors originating from the Emerald Isle, like Mr. Mulligan, since red and red-brown hair is more common around both Scotland and Ireland; in our time they actually have the most redheads and red hair gene carriers, with about 23% of the world's population living just there alone. Does that make sense?" 

"...Actually, yeah, it does. That's really fascinating." 

"Right?" Noah grinned, "So basically if you've got very light coloring, don't look directly at the sun, and avoid too much exposure." He said before Talia reached for the remote again.

_**(Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit, I'm helpless!)** _

_**I'm helpless!** _  
_**Yeah, I'm helpless, I know** _

_**(Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em!)** _

_**I'm helpless!** _  
_**I'm so into you!** _

The man sighed fondly as he watched the musical-version of Eliza dance around the stage with her sisters and the ensemble, her eyes still on the actor playing him. It made Hamilton long for his wife and children; he bet they would have loved to be here to watch this; perhaps it would have answered all the questions they had about himself that he found so difficult to answer with words. He would have liked to introduce them to Laurens; they'd heard stories from him of course but he'd always imagined being able to have John in their lives as a family member. He was sure they would have loved him.

...He also really owed his wife an apology. Alexander knew he should have found a way to get his debt plan through _and_ go on that vacation with them, instead of having to choose one over the other.

_**(Look into your eyes...)** _

_**I am so into you!** _

_**(And the sky's the limit, I'm helpless)** _

_**I know, I'm down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em!** _

_**(Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em...)** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Where are you taking me?** _

"To meet your future wife!" Hercules said cheerfully.

Philip grinned at his honorary uncle's antics.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**I'm about to change your life!** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Then by all means, lead the way** _

John tried and failed to suppress a snicker; the on-stage Hamilton's expression and tone both made it clear he was expecting something a little more... _private_ to take place between him and Angelica when she led him away by the arm.

**[ELIZA:]**

_**Elizabeth Schuyler. It's a pleasure to meet you** _

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Schuyler?** _

"Wait, you mean you had been told to keep an eye out for the rich, unmarried Schuyler sisters, yet you didn't know what they looked like?" 

Hamilton blushed and muttered something under his breath, sheepishly.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**My sister!** _

**[ELIZA:]**

**Thank you for all your service**

**[HAMILTON:]**

**If it takes fighting a war for us to meet, it will have been worth it.**

"Holy shit!" Hercules blurted with a laugh, earning a couple of disapproving looks for his language, mostly from George and Angelica. "That was _good!_ Who knew the skinny little kid that used to fall asleep at my desk studying could be so smooth, huh?"

Eliza raised her hand with a gentle giggle, "I didn't agree to marry him for no reason, you know!"

John bit his lip to hide a grin, knowing just as well how charming Alexander could be.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**I'll leave you to it!** _

**[ELIZA & WOMEN:]**

_**One week later, I'm writin' a letter nightly** _  
_**Now my life gets better every letter that you write me!** _  
_**Laughin' at my sister, 'cause she wants to form a harem—** _

That garnered a few raised eyebrows; most of the people in the room couldn't ever picture Angelica being in a harem, or any sort of relationship that treated women that way, really. She had too much respect for herself to agree to something like that.

**[ANGELICA:]**

_**—I'm just sayin', if you really loved me, you would share him!** _

Everyone laughed at her comment, and the expressions on the other actresses faces when she said that. 

"That actually sounds like something you would joke about." Eliza noted, missing Talia's snicker because it was something Angelica had in fact said to her sister in a letter, albeit paraphrased in the musical; if she recalled correctly it was something along the lines of 'if you were as generous as the Romans you would lend him to me for a week or two'. Historians believed it to be a teasing joke, but you never knew - Laurens and Hamilton somehow managed to send each other love letters for years and pass it off as jokes and history was revised all the time. Who knew how many secret romances were overlooked because the flowery writing made everything seem flirtatious, and people brushed it off?

**[ELIZA & ALL WOMEN:]**

_**Ha!** _

_**Two weeks later in the livin' room stressin'** _  
_**(Stressin')** _  
_**My father's stone-faced while you're askin' for his blessin'** _  
_**(Blessin')** _  
_**I'm dyin' inside as you wine and dine** _  
_**And I'm tryin' not to cry** _  
_**'Cause there's nothing that your mind can't do (Ooh)** _

George couldn't help but smile at this performance. 

He had only met Miss Schuyler once or twice before her and Hamilton's fateful meeting at the ball, and of course they were not yet married in his time, so he didn't know too much about her relationship with Alexander, but if the love shining in his son's eyes as he spoke of their family earlier was any indication, they clearly deeply loved one another. From his correspondences with Philip Schuyler, he knew the middle sister to be extremely kind, intelligent and loving. Exactly what Alexander needed to balance out his passionately driven personality. He hoped they turned out to be a well made match.

Of course, logically he knew they would be, otherwise why would it be included in a musical story about Alexander's life?

It was just the father in him wanting his child to be _happy_ , especially after such a painful upbringing.

_**My father makes his way across the room to you (Ooh)** _  
_**I panic for a second thinkin' "We're through!" (Ooh)** _  
_**But then he shakes your hand and says "Be true!" (Ooh)** _  
_**And you turn back to me, smilin', and I'm helpless** _  
_**(Helpless!)** _

By this point in the song, _almost_ everyone had some sort of smile on their face at the obvious joy being expressed by the stage performers; they were very well in tune with one another and could almost be passed off as the real deal, in the eyes of those who had seen the actual couple interact in person before. Hercules had a splitting grin on his face and Lafayette was teasing a blushing Hamilton, who swatted his hands away when he was poked and muttered something to him in French that made the Marquis nearly cackle in response.

_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em (hoo!)** _  
_**I'm helpless!**  
**That boy is mine, that boy is mi-i-i-i-ine~!**_  
_**(Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit)** _

_**I'm helpless!** _  
_**(Helpless, helpless)** _  
_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em** _  
_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em** _

On the stage, Hamilton's actor was dancing around joyfully, first sweeping Eliza into his arms before embracing both Angelica and Peggy with happiness radiating off of them all as they accepted him into their family with smiles and hugs.

Alexander felt tears sting his eyes as unknown emotions swelled up in him, and he wiped them away quickly before any of the adults in the room could see. 

He couldn't imagine himself opening his heart up like that, to letting someone else hold in their hands his ability to be happy. He'd had a family once, after all, and losing them had been like... like losing a _limb_ , it made him feel ripped apart and incomplete and so very _alone_. Papa had left, then Nana had passed away, and Aunt Ann and Aunt Jemima had died, then Mama, Jemmy had left him too... Peter had killed himself, and Uncle James had died shortly after just from the sheer heartbreak, and then Alex had been completely alone with only a few cousins who were twenty years or older than him or scattered among the islands with no way to get to them. He'd had to turn to whatever means he could before the kindness of Mr. Stevens and his family. 

Depending on other people... it just _wouldn't_ end well, it never did. It made you complacent, and vulnerable. Falling in love was just another loss waiting to be mourned eventually. What happened when that other person was ripped away? If you let somebody else be the reason you no longer felt _helpless_ , what would happen if they left you, either willingly or because they had no choice (death didn't care how badly he and James had _needed_ their mother in their lives, so why would it care how much he loved his future wife?). 

The boy couldn't lose anyone else he loved. 

It would _break him_. 

**[HAMILTON:]**

_**Eliza,** _  
_**I don't have a dollar to my name, an acre of land,** _  
_**A troop to command, a dollop of fame** _

Angelica shook her head, knowing her sister wouldn't care about those things in the slightest.

What she wanted was someone who would respect her and their children, love her wholeheartedly, and be honest.

_**All I have's my honor, a tolerance for pain** _  
_**A couple of college credits and my** _  
_**Top notch brain! Insane!** _

_**Your family brings out a different side in me** _  
_**Peggy confides in me, Angelica tried to take a bite of me!** _

Eliza arched an eyebrow at that, but the others didn't seem to pick up on the line.

_**No stress! My love for you is never in doubt** _  
_**We'll get a little place in Harlem, and we'll figure it out!** _

_**I've been livin' without a family since I was a child,** _  
_**My father left, my mother died, I grew up buckwild!** _

Closing his eyes for just a moment, George could feel the guilt he'd been shoving down for the sake of keeping his composure rising up once more. 

Every time Alexander's past came up, it seemed to nearly always be followed or preceded by something to do with him wanting to fight. He understood why; there was a time in his life where the General, too, had felt like he had nothing left to lose. The key word, _felt_. He'd still had his mother (however strained their relationship might have been), his sister and his surviving brothers. But because he'd lost his father, and Lawrence and baby Sarah and others he cared for, he had relentlessly pursued the idea that glory was the only thing that mattered, that a legacy would make his family's lives better, make him happier.

The difference was... despite his feelings, he _hadn't_ actually been alone.

But Alexander had grown up quickly and unwillingly, he'd been left no choice. If it weren't for his incredible intellect and the good will of a handful of his acquaintances living on St. Croix who'd been touched by his writing, he would have had nothing. Of course he was obsessed with making a name for himself as quickly as he possibly could... the boy had been surrounded by death for so long that it was probably like an old friend to him ( _or like a memory_ , he thought grimly, realizing the musical was entirely right). His son, who had resigned himself to a quiet life of loneliness and mediocrity, or a glorified death in battle, so he could feel important for the first time in his life. It made his stomach churn. 

If he had just kept in touch with Rachel... would his boy have had the chance to grow up without looking over his shoulder for the shadow of the Reaper looming over him, wondering when it would come for him and if he would have time to forge a future that his descendants could look upon with pride? Would he have been able to slow down and appreciate the moments in his life he was overlooking with how busy he was, not realizing he would never get those back? George had been at war during the birth of his stepson John's first child, his grandchild, Elizabeth, and his wife was due any day from the time he had been taken from to give birth to their second child. His daughter-in-law Eleanor was insisting that if it's a girl, she will be named Martha, not just after her John's mother, but also her husband's sister Martha Parke Custis, who had died several years back when she was seventeen. Patsy, his little girl who he had raised from the time she was a toddler, yet he never felt like he'd done enough for.

George _did not want_ Alexander to spend his whole life fighting for a legacy only to miss what was right in front of him; Philip and the other children would be grown and out of the house before he knew it, and where would that leave Hamilton once he inevitably, like all men who live long enough to gain the wisdom, realized that he'd been so _fixated_ on the preservation of his name, his future, that he forgot to live in his _present?_

He looked over at Hamilton, who's gaze was focused on the screen but who looked so deeply _exhausted_ he almost looked old, despite being only in his early thirties. Then he turned his attention to the younger Alexander, bright-eyed and curious about what he was watching but with a determined set in his jaw whenever his dead family was mentioned. He had been on that path for a long time. 

With any luck, this musical could show him something to turn the tide before it was too late to stop it.

_**But I'll never forget my mother's face, that was real** _  
_**And long as I'm alive, Eliza, swear to God** _  
_**You'll never feel so—** _

**[ALL WOMEN, ELIZA & HAMILTON:]**

_**Helpless!** _  
_**(I do, I do, I do, I do!)** _

_**Eliza—** _

_**Helpless!** _  
_**(I do, I do, I do, I do!)** _

_**I've never felt so—** _

_**Helpless!** _  
_**(Hey, yeah, yeah!)** _  
_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in 'em!** _  
_**(I'm down for the count, I'm—)** _  
_**Helpless!** _

_**My life is gonna be fine 'cause Eliza's in it!** _

Eliza beamed at Hamilton, while the others seemed totally absorbed in the sappy, feel-good love song.

"Fool," the young Alex whispered softly to his future self.

_**Helpless!** _  
_**(I look into your eyes and the sky's the limit, I-I-I'm~)** _  
_**Helpless!** _  
_**Down for the count and I'm drownin' in em!** _  
_**(...Drownin' in 'em!)** _

"Is Hercules acting as the _flower girl_ for their wedding?" John asked while Lafayette started laughing.

Mulligan didn't seem offended by this in the slightest, puffing his chest out with pride.

_**[ALL WOMEN:]** _

_**In New York you can be a new man...** _  
_**In New York you can be a new man...** _  
_**In New York you can be a new man...** _

**[ELIZA:]**

_**Helpless...** _

The audience in the recording burst into applause, and a few of the watching guests did as well.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say that was the most adorable performance I've ever seen in my life." Hercules announced.

Hamilton heard a soft sigh and looked over to see Eliza watching him with a happy expression on her face; when she realized he'd caught on to her she dropped her gaze to her lap, a gentle blush covering her cheeks. He allowed a small smile to appear on his face. 

"Alright, this next one is, ah, really something..." Noah said, glancing over at Angelica for just a moment. 

She noticed; her face went pale.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's probably obvious but I know jack shit about genetics. I mean, I know a little but not enough to be overly accurate with it, so if I got anything wrong please let me know. If I got anything terribly wrong feel free to chalk it up to the twins thinking they know shit but not being experts on it so they're just reiterating information as they remember it to be.
> 
> I did technically 'three' songs for this chapter because only Helpless and Satisfied really count as full songs on their own, A Winter's Ball is really more of a funny intro than anything else.
> 
> The statue of Washington inspired by Zeus and the statues of Greek demigods is a real thing. Look up 'Enthroned Washington' by Horatio Greenough and be prepared to feel extremely uncomfortable. 
> 
> GW was repulsed by the thought of being seen as a 'King' to America so much that he literally stepped down after two terms because he believed no man should have that much power over their people (i.e. the power to just be in charge for his whole life without question just because people wanted him to be, which is why US Presidents now can only lead for two terms before being replaced, although they're free to run again later), and he flatly rejected John Adams' (and anyone else's) suggestions that he call his position be called 'His Majesty', 'Excellency' or 'Electoral Highness', because he felt the term 'President' was beneath Washington/undignified for a man of his position. 
> 
> GW eventually relented to the suggestions that it be 'Mr. President' instead but would allow nothing further. Adams and others still continued to try to push the issue, which caused people to make fun of him since Americans despised monarchs and their associated titles by that point. Thomas Jefferson called them "the most superlatively ridiculous thing I ever heard of", while Benjamin Franklin considered it "absolutely mad". So, yeah, the musical isn't wrong during Right Hand Man, Washington DESPISED the idea of people defying him or putting him up on a pedestal. He seemed to especially be annoyed by ass-kissers and those that tried to push him into becoming a monarch of America, even though he could have with the power he'd raised in his Army, because that was what they were fighting against. 
> 
> English/French translation courtesy of Google Translate, as always:
> 
> "Mon petit lion! Est-ce que ça va?!" = "My little lion! Are you okay?!"  
> "Cette chanson est adorable." = "This song is adorable."  
> "Mademoiselle Eliza a l'air enchantée!" = "Miss Eliza looks enchanted!"  
> "Oui." / "Elle a été frappée d'amour." = "Yes." / "She was struck with love."

**Author's Note:**

> Alright, 3rd WIP Hamilton story published! I'll be getting updates out on all of them over the next few days, but I really wanted to try my hand at one of these 'reaction' stories, so here's the obligatory explanation/characters being confused and freaked out chapter. I apologize if my OCs are kinda one dimensional, I sort of just threw them in there to explain everything and make commentary, and also bullshit a reason different from the 'because fate' reason most of these stories have for the people getting to see the musical. 
> 
> Real reactions start next chapter. What do you guys think so far? YES, I wrote this specifically so the characters could react to the most painful moments of Alex's live because I'm an evil, evil person like that. But I am genuinely curious to know how they'd react differently if they knew the repercussions of their actions so, yeah. 
> 
> Please let me know what you think, give suggestions (like which cut songs I should include), etc. 
> 
> Thank you!


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